The Gemstone Waltz
by Mayumi-san
Summary: Ban and Ginji find out that getting their target isn't as simple as it seems, especially if it involves criminal organizations. Sequel to 'The Silver Claw'... COMPLETE! FINALLY!
1. The Overture

Disclaimer: If Mayumi-san owned the Get Backers, you would've known.

* * *

**I. The Overture**

Thursday night.

For most people, Thursday was unremarkable and ordinary. Very few of these people would make plans on Thurday nights, and if they did, those plans would usually be limited by the need for a sufficient amount of shuteye before starting the last day of school or work, whichever case may be applicable to whatever drudgery they were currently plodding through. For these people who held normal routines and who would most probably continue to hold normal routines until the day they retire, Thursday night was a very normal night.

But for the retrieval duo who called themselves the Get Backers, what day of the week it was held no difference. This particular Thursday night, they were in the middle of a job that most people would not consider normal.

Amano Ginji, the blond half of the Get Backers, adjusted his bowtie as his brown eyes scanned the hotel ballroom that was currently the venue for a fund-raising gala that was attended by various heads of different corporations in Tokyo. Men in their tuxedos and women in their formal gowns mingled with each other, some sipping from sparkling glasses of champagne, some waltzing in the middle of the ballroom as the string quartet played in the background, while some simply stood along the sides of the room and made small talk with the other guests.

"I wonder if Madoka-chan's dinner concert tomorrow will be like this", he mused.

Mido Ban, the brunette half of the retrieval duo, answered, "I doubt it." Upon seeing his partner turn to him with a questioning look, the hint of a smile crossed his lips as he continued, "I don't think she would invite the Yakuza to her dinner concert."

"Oh", Ginji said, with realization dawning on his innocent features. "Of course."

Doing business with the Yakuza was not what most people consider normal either. For once the Yakuza handed out invitations to "fund-raising" events to corporate executives, these hapless honchos would have have to think twice before turning them down. And usually, they would decide that showing up to these events with big fat donations was the wiser decision, even if it was on a Thursday night. Early Friday meetings would then just have to be re-prioritized.

And so there the Get Backers were, in the middle of a Yakuza-hosted fund-raising gala on a Thursday night, waiting for a _sokaiya_ (1) named Tomita Shunji. Apparently, this particular sokaiya did not only engage in corporate extortion, but in theft as well. The Get Backers' client, a young executive of a certain car manufacturer, had hired the retrieval specialists to get back a bloodstone ring that Tomita had taken from him. Having heard about Ban'sJagan had convinced him that the Get Backers were perfect for the job, since the Jagan master supposedly could alter one's perception of reality. This skill, he believed, would be useful in preventing the retrieval from being traced back to him, and thus avoid retaliation from the _sokaiya_.

The said Jagan master skimmed the faces of the guests for the man that matched the picture that their client had shown them, occassionally stopping his gaze on some of the attractive young women lounging around the ballroom. Since the main guests at this event were corporate bosses "donating" to the Yakuza's non-existent cause, any young woman in the room would most likely be workers in the Yakuza's _mizu shobai_ (2).

He stopped looking at the guests for a moment and turned to his partner, mischief crossing his bright blue eyes. "You know what else would make Madoka's dinner concert different from this one?"

"What?", Ginji asked.

"Natsumi will be there."

Ban smiled amusedly at the sight of color rushing through the blond's cheeks at the mention of the name of the high-school waitress. "You know, I've gotta hand it to ya. Only you can ask a girl out with chocolate icing on your teeth, and she would still say 'yes'", he said, chuckling.

The color from Ginji's cheeks spread toward tips of his ears as he answered, "Chuckle all you want. I'll find something to chuckle about when _you_ finally ask someone out tomorrow."

"Heh", Ban snorted. "Save your chuckles. I'm not gonna ask anyone out."

Ginji frowned and asked, "Why not?"

"Will Madoka throw me out of her party if I didn't bring a date?", he asked with a raised eyebrow.

"No", Ginji answered. "But what are you gonna do with your extra ticket?"

"You can have it."

"And what am I gonna do with it?", Ginji asked, a puzzled frown crossing his features.

"You can give it back to Madoka. Or you can throw it away. Or you can use it to make origami cherry blossoms." He shrugged, then turned back toward the guests. "Do whatever you want with it. I don't really care."

"Ban-chan", Ginji said, shaking his head disapprovingly. "You're no fun sometimes."

A young redhead a few feet away caught Ban looking at her. Keeping her eyes on his, she made her way through the other guests toward him, her long crimson skirt fluttering with every sway of her hips. She smiled flirtatiously as she stopped directly in front of Ban.

"Hey, there", she said, her voice dripping with honey. "Want some company tonight?"

Ban gave her a lopsided grin, then answered, "I'd love to, but unfortunately, I'm here for business, not for pleasure."

"Awww", she said, her lips turned down in a pout. "That's too bad. But if you change your mind, let me know."

She gave him one last smile before turning around and heading back to where she came from, perhaps to look for another prospect. As she disappeared among the guests, Ginji commented, "You could've asked her if she's free tomorrow."

Ban raised an eyebrow and turned to his partner. "First, I already told you that I'm _not_ gonna ask anyone out for tomorrow. And second, she's not free, Ginji."

Ginji frowned. "What do you mean?"

One would think that being with Ban almost 24/7 should've let Ginji pick up at least a thing or two about the vitiated ways of this world. But somehow, the former Volts leader still managed to retain his naiveté. That was exactly how Ban wanted it to be, yet he couldn't help but snicker.

The blond's frown deepened as he asked, "What's so funny, Ban-chan?"

Before he could reply, he hissed under his breath as something, or rather, someone, caught his attention.

"Dagger Babe", he muttered. "What are you doing here?"

* * *

**A/N:** Here it is. The sequel. Hope you enjoy the ride ;) 

Rabid Lola: Booya:P Thanks for your reviews. I always love hearing from you :)

Atropos' Knife: More Ginji-Natsumi hints for you:D About the Tsuya artbook cover, the girl's hair looks more like black, not violet. And yeah, Ban in a tuxedo is just... sigh. I am such a fangirl.. Oh, and get your cookie ready ;)

(1) The main job description of a _sokaiya_ is blackmailing large companies into paying great amounts of money.  
(2) _Mizu shobai_ (literally "water business") refers to the nightlife business. The Japanese traditionally relates water with pleasures of the flesh, so go figure.


	2. A Familiar Face

Disclaimer: If Mayumi-san owned the Get Backers, she wouldn't need to pay a single cent to own GB mangas, DVDs, soundtracks, and other wonderful GB merchandise. 

A/N: Just got Vol. 7 of Tokyopop's translation of the GB manga. Yay!

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**II. A Familiar Face**

She was dressed in a black satin gown, her bodice decorated with black beads in a simple but elegant floral pattern that accentuated her waist. She had a black chiffon scarf draped delicately across her back, the ends hanging over her arms. Her skirt flowed to her ankles, the long slit in front showing a bit of her legs as she walked. And right now, she was walking beside a young Yakuza-type man with a shaved head. As they reached one end of the ballroom, they stopped walking and turned to face each other.

"Iarra-chan", Ginji said softly as he saw what had attracted Ban's attention.

The man was gazing down at her as she looked up at him, a kittenish smile on her lips. He stroked one of the tendrils of hair that framed her face, then leaned forward to whisper something in her ear. She laughed.

_Looks like baldie can be quite a comedian_, Ban thought wryly.

Ginji looked at Ban, then back at the couple. "Should we go over there and say hi?", he asked.

Ban frowned at his partner as he answered, "No."

As he looked back at the girl, he wondered, _What the hell is Dark Fleet doing here?_ His past experience with the smuggling organization had made him less than eager to have an encounter with them again. And the sight of one of their elite agents right across the room from him brought back memories that were not exactly full of delight.

Ban's frown deepened as an unpleasant thought popped up in his mind. Could the Get Backers and Dark Fleet be after the same target again? He shook the thought away. _No way_.

The Get Backers' client never mentioned anything about Dark Fleet being involved in the job. All the client said was that the bloodstone ring was an heirloom from his great-great-grandfather, and that he just wanted it back. It was pretty believable, since bloodstone was considered fairly inexpensive, not exactly the type of gem that smugglers would go after. But then again, the Get Backers' experiences in the past told Ban that sometimes, clients didn't always tell the whole story, leaving out some details that would later complicate their job.

He watched her te-hee at whatever amusing story the bald guy was saying, and the nagging feeling inside him persisted. She was definitely not here for the party, he decided. She was on a misson. And if that mission involved a certain _sokaiya_, then it would complicate their job indeed. Better to take care of the molehill now before it turned into a mountain.

"On second thought", he said, adjusting his purple-tinted glasses. "Maybe we should say hi."

* * *

Ban watched as the man with the shaved head took his ringing cellphone out of his tuxedo jacket and opened the flip. From where he was standing, he could read the man's lips as they formed the words "Moshi moshi." 

The man spoke into the phone some more, then turned to the girl beside him and said a few words to her. She smiled and nodded, then he walked away towards the door as he continued his phone conversation.

Which gave the Get Backers the perfect opportunity to "exchange greetings" with the Dark Fleet agent.

She was watching the man with the shaved head stepping out of the ballroom when Ban and Ginji appeared beside her.

"Never thought we'd bump into you here, Dagger Babe", Ban said.

She looked at them blankly. "I beg your pardon?", she said.

Ban gave a chuckling snort, then his face turned serious. "I'll go straight to the point", he continued. "We really don't care what your mission is, but if Dark Fleet gets in the Get Backers' way again..." He narrowed his eyes. "... things won't be pretty."

She furrowed her brows in confusion. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Drop the act, Dagger Babe", he said. "You're not fooling us one bit."

She blinked, staring at Ban, then at Ginji, then back at Ban, her face blank, with not even a hint of recognition.

Ginji frowned. "Don't you remember us, Iarra-chan?", he asked.

She smiled politely, then answered, "I'm sorry, but I think you've mistaken me for somebody else. Now if you'll excuse me..."

She turned to walk away, but Ban grabbed her left wrist before she could take a step. He remembered that the Dark Fleet agent had a small tattoo on each of her wrists. And he remembered that they looked like the lowercase Greek letter Xi. So he held her wrist up, looked at it, and found... nothing. She had a bracelet of black onyx stones, but no tattoo. He frowned.

"Excuse me", she said, annoyed. She was now scowling at him. "I think you should let go."

"Are these guys bothering you?", a male voice interrupted.

The man with the shaved head had returned, holding two glasses of champagne. Ban noticed that the last joint of his left little finger was missing, evidence of having undergone the _yubizume_ (1) ritual.

There was a hardness in her eyes as she looked at Ban and answered, "Not anymore." She then pulled her wrist free and turned on one stiletto heel to face the man, the black onyx stones on her hair pin glittering as she did so. She slipped her arm under his, and led him away. Smiling at him, she said, "Let's go someplace else where we can't be bothered."

The man gave one last suspicious glance at Ban and Ginji, then smiled at the girl beside him. "Sure, baby." He handed her a glass of champagne, which she took with a smile, then they made their way across the ballroom towards the door while the Get Backers stared after them.

Ginji said, frowning, "That _is_ her, isn't it?"

If she was surprised to see them, she was hiding it well, Ban thought. Very well.

He definitely remembered those tattoos. But he had looked intently at her wrist and was not able to find even a trace of it. Hell, he was beginning to have doubts himself. But the way she pulled her wrist free from his hold, that slight twist that she used... Well, the girl knew how to defend herself, that's for sure.

"Yeah, that's her", Ban replied. _I think._ As soon as that afterthought popped up, he scowled. _Of course that's her. That's _got_ to be her._

"Why doesn't she remember us?", Ginji asked softly.

"Oh, I think she does", Ban answered, glaring at the couple. The nagging feeling still pressed in his gut as he watched them walk farther away. "Ginji", he said just before they stepped out of the door.

"Hmmm?"

"Watch out for Tomita", Ban answered, then started walking towards the door.

Ginji frowned in confusion. "Where are you going, Ban-chan?"

Ban stopped walking and turned his head to his partner. "I'm gonna follow a hunch" was his reply.

* * *

A/N: I forgot to mention that this fic is inspired by the cover of the Tsuya artbook. If you've read my last notes on "The Silver Claw", you might remember that I said that it was the backstory to a fic that I originally thought about when I saw that cover. Anyway, this is the fic that I was talking about :) 

TheOriginal: I'm glad you liked it, and I hope you'll like this one too :)

Rabid Lola: Well, I was thinking of doing a one-shot on that icing thing, but I can't manage to do it, so the idea got reduced to one line on this fic hehe :P

Tastywheat: You read it in one sitting? Whoa. I'm happy you managed to read through till the end :P And thanks for your very helpful comments. I know what you mean, and I agree with you hehe :) I've re-read my fic and there are some things that I want to change now, but what's done is done :) I just hope I do better on this one. So keep those comments coming ;)

Shinja-chan: Hey, Azn Grill! Err.. I mean, Shinja-chan :D So is there a story to the name change?

Atropos' Knife: Yes, the girls are Miyuki and Natsumi from "You're Under Arrest", and yes, the characters of the YUA and GB anime are drawn by the same artist. About that icing thing, see my response to Rabid Lola :P I kinda got stuck on my last fic. I keep getting ideas for this one, so I might as well just write them down before they go away :) Oh, and Madoka's concert is a day away. The madness starts now :P

Zining: Ah, yes. It's such fun to pick on Ban because of that (in)famous ego :D

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(1) _Yubizume_ is the Yakuza practice of cutting off the last joint of the little finger as atonement for a wrongdoing. The severed joint is then sent to the _oyabun_ (the "godfather" of a Yakuza group). Subsequent offenses mean goodbye to the next joint on the finger, then the next, and continues to the next finger. So there are actually some members who have whole fingers missing. Here's a little trivia: The British kiddie cartoon character Bob the Builder had only four fingers on each hand, so when a Japanese television network wanted to import the series, they wanted to add an extra finger to Bob, since missing fingers in Japan suggests _yubizume_. I guess they didn't want the schoolchildren to think of him as Bob the Yakuza. 


	3. The Eighteenth Floor

Disclaimer: If Mayumi-san owned the Get Backers, she would've written her stories faster, because then she would be given a deadline and somebody would be breathing down her neck, yelling at her to get it done ASAP. 

A/N: To those who reviewed, I had fun reading your theories :D I should've made a contest on that one: Evil Twin Or Not? ;)

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**III. The Eighteenth Floor**

It had been three years since Okada Hideo had pledged his life to the Yakuza, three years since he stopped being a law-abiding citizen and just turned his back to the society that ostracized him. When he was a young kid, he never would have imagined that he would be living a life of crime. It was a choice that he made three years ago, and he never regretted that decision once. Not even when he had to cut off his finger.

That night, the Yakuza had reserved the top three floors of the 20-storey hotel that the fund-raising gala was in. One of the perks of being a Yakuza was that the members were free to indulge themselves with the mizu shobai girls that were under their employment. They were also allowed to use any of the rooms in the reserved floors of the hotel, with the exception of some rooms that were to be used for other business deals that would occur that night.

It was in one of the rooms, Room 1811 to be exact, that Hideo took off his tuxedo jacket and threw it down on the floor, locking his eyes on the girl sitting on the edge of the bed. He grinned.

He liked this girl. He liked how her eyes lit up when he told her stories of his conquests as a Yakuza, how she gasped when he told her how he had cut his finger right in the middle of a bar full of people, and how she had seemed impressed when he told her he helped make arrangements for an important transaction to be made that night. It was important, for his Yakuza clan Kagerou-kai would make millions after it pushed through.

His smile wavered as he tipped over to the left. He quickly regained his balance, then chuckled to himself.

_Must be all those glasses of champagne that I drank_, he thought. He was more drunk that he had ever been, but right now, he didn't really care. He was having fun with this girl.

She returned his smile, watching him as he pulled his bowtie, untying it and letting it fall to the floor. He undid the top button of his shirt, then continued with the next button, then the next, all the while watching the curiosity in her eyes as his _irezumi_ (1) was slowly exposed. His fingers reached the last button which, to his irritation, refused to be unfastened. After fumbling for a while with the stubborn button, he glared at it, then decided to just rip the damn thing from its threads.

Her brows went up slightly as her eyes followed the rolling button across the floor. The button curved toward the bedside drawer, rolling until it hit the foot of the drawer. She turned her attention back to Hideo, who had now taken his shirt off and was smiling at her in all his tattooed glory. She smiled back.

It pleased Hideo to see the admiration on the girl's face when she stood up and sashayed her way to stand in front of him. He licked his lips in anticipation as she lightly brushed her fingers on the image of the jumping black carp on his chest. With his cut left little finger, he gently traced the outline of her face , continuing to her neck, then to her shoulders, sliding the thin strap of her dress down.

But that was as far as he could go.

Without warning, Hideo dropped to the floor, unconscious.

"Hideo-san!", the girl exclaimed. She knelt down on the floor, stooping over him. "Hideo-san! Hideo-san!"

He lay on the floor, unmoving. She shook him hard, his shaved head jerking with every push.

"Hideo-san! Are you alright?"

Hideo didn't answer. She looked closely at him, and the distress on her face slowly disappeared.

_Of course not_, the girl thought, for a few minutes ago, she had surreptitiously squeezed two drops of sedatives on his champagne without him noticing. The fact that he was too focused on his grandiloquent tales was a leverage that she gladly took advantage of.

She took one last look at his face. During the entire time that she was with him, this was the only moment that she had found him likable, for this was the only moment that he had actually shut his mouth. But again, that was a leverage that she gladly took advantage of.

"Sleep tight," she said, softly. She stood up, slid her shoulder strap back on, then muttered, "Idiot."

And with that, she stepped over him daintily, walked across the room, and shut the door of Room 1811 behind her.

* * *

The tips of her stiletto heels dug deep into the thick carpet as she passed by door after door on both sides of the hotel corridor. Now that she had gotten the information that she could get from Hideo, all she needed was a plan. 

During his self-exalting stories, the dimwit had mentioned names of the people involved, some of which she could recognize. But the big problem was, the most important name that he gave was not one that she had heard before.

_Oh, well_, she shrugged to herself. It didn't matter. One way or another, she would get what she came here for. To start with, she remembered seeing some of the people that Hideo had mentioned when she was at the ballroom. _So it's back to the ballrooom, then_, she decided.

Her thoughts were interrupted when the third door to her right suddenly opened, and two middle-aged Yakuza-type men stepped out. She tensed up, but continued walking casually. One of the men eyed her from head to toe, his gaze lingering on her curves. She almost rolled her eyes at him, but was able to stop herself in time. Instead, she smiled sweetly at him.

The other man saw her, too, but seemed to pay her no attention as he turned to his associate and asked, "So the shipment will arrive two days from now, is that right?"

The first man snapped out of his fantasy and answered, "Yes. Our contacts have confirmed it."

They continued their discussion as she passed by them without incident. She walked on, finally reaching the end of the corridor and turning left toward a different hallway. Now that she was out of sight of those men, she breathed a sigh of relief and continued with her musings.

She walked in the direction of the elevator as she pondered the possibilities, a plan slowly beginning to form in her head. She turned right, finding herself in a small foyer. She walked past the chairs in the middle of the floor and past the chinese fan palms adorning the foyer, spotting the elevator along the wall on her right. But before she could take a step closer, she saw something move fleetingly at the corner of her eye. She turned her head to the direction of the movement, but saw nothing out of the ordinary.

She tried not to look suspicious as she turned around slowly, trying to spot who made the movement. Ahead of her, past the elevator, a room service attendant was pushing a cart containing food and beverages. Behind her, a Yakuza man was walking along the corridor toward one of the rooms, looking engrossed with the buxom blonde girl at his arm. They soon disappeared behind one of the doors along the corridor.

The hotel attendant had also already entered one of the rooms. There was no one else in sight, but she still could not dismiss the uneasy feeling that there was somebody else nearby. She looked back at the elevator doors, then decided to try something. One way to find out if one is being followed was to go around in circles.

She started to walk past the elevator, and into the corridor ahead. She quickened her steps, turning left to a different corridor. She turned left again, walking past several doors. Memorizing the hotel layout had turned out to be quite useful, she mused.

She turned left again, walking past several doors. When she passed by Room 1811, she couldn't help but smirk as she remembered Hideo. _The bastard must be enjoying himself in Dreamland right now_, she thought, chuckling softly to herself.

As she moved along, her ears picked up a very faint shuffling sound on the carpet. Now she was sure she wasn't imagining things. She was definitely being followed. She frowned as she considered her current situation.

Who could it be? Have the Yakuza already found out about her, she thought.

She quickened her pace some more, this time trotting until she reached the corner, where she turned left to a different branch in the hallway and waited. As soon as she felt that the person following her was right around the corner, she lunged forward, giving the person a hard punch on the nose with her left fist.

But her fist never made contact with the person's nose. The person, who turned out to be male, had caught her fist with his right hand. The person also turned out to have spiky hair and purple glasses.

Her jaw dropped open. Before she could make another move, he twisted her fist. He stretched his right thumb over her wrist and rubbed it lightly, removing what seemed like concealer, until a tiny black symbol emerged. It looked like the Greek lowercase Xi.

He grinned smugly at her.

She sighed, then muttered, "And I thought I'd gotten rid of you." She glared at him, pulled her wrist free, then asked exasperatedly, "What do you want, Mido?"

His grin grew wider. "I love it when I'm right."

Iarra raised her eyebrows, then snorted. "You followed me just to prove you're right?"

"That's just part of it, sweetheart," he answered, his gaze turning serious. "I followed you to make sure you're not gonna stab us on the back again."

She rolled her eyes. "First, I'm not here to..." She mimicked his tone. "... stab you on the back. What I'm doing here is none of your business. And second, I didn't stab you on the back. I stabbed you on the leg."

"_Back_ of the leg," Ban corrected.

She smiled, amused. "Besides, it wasn't even a stab. It was more like a graze."

He looked at her incredulously. "_That_ was a graze?"

She scowled at him. _This is a waste of time_, she thought. She exhaled loudly, then said to him, "Look, my business here does not involve you or Ginji. It was nice seeing you again, but..." She waved him away. "...will you _please_ scram and let me go on my way?"

Ban was about to retort when the sudden sound of a twisting doorknob interrupted them. A door behind Iarra opened, and a tuxedo-clad Yakuza appeared. Without missing a beat, Iarra stepped closer to Ban, her fingers brushing against his lapel.

She gave him a meaningful look. "Act natural," she whispered.

Ban raised an eyebrow at Iarra, then smiled. "My pleasure," he replied, placing his hands on her waist.

She looked a little fazed, but before she could say something, the Yakuza man stepped out of the room, talking in hushed tones, his cellphone pressed against his ear. He sounded upset.

"We apologize for the inconvenience, Tomita-san, but we will inform you of the exact venue as soon as possible," he said as he walked straight past Ban and Iarra, not even giving them so much as a glance.

Iarra's eyes flitted over to the man when she heard him utter the name Tomita-san.

_Tomita_, she thought. The most important name that Hideo had mentioned. The one in charge of a deal that the Yakuza was making that night. The one that she was after.

It was possible that the Yakuza man was talking to a different Tomita, she considered. In that case, she would then have to find out if the person at the other end of the line really was --

"Tomita Shunji,", Ban said, interrupting her thoughts.

Startled, Iarra's eyes darted back to Ban, who was watching her closely. Very closely. She frowned, then titlted her chin, her gaze directly meeting his. They stood there staring, eyes narrowed into slits, each trying to read what the other was thinking, and each finally concluding that they were after the same man.

_No way_, Iarra thought.

Ban's eyes narrowed at her. In a low voice, he said, "I love it when I'm right."

"You have to abort your mission, Mido," she said quietly.

He raised an eyebrow. "Or what?"

Her eyes hardened as she replied, her head shaking slightly, "You and me after the same target is not a good thing."

"I agree. It's gonna be hard to explain to your boss why you failed."

She scowled. "Mido," she started to say as she gripped his lapel tightly. "I'd rather not fight you. But Tomita is mine. I will fight if I have to."

"Ooh, now that's scary."

"Mido, I'm serious."

"So am I. The Get Backers have a 100 percent success rate, and I'm not gonna break that record now just because you asked."

She glared at him, and he glared back.

Finally he asked, "Want to settle this here and now?"

She met his gaze steadily, meeting the challenge in his eyes with her own. After a few moments, her eyes softened as she shook her head and loosened her grip on his lapel. "It'll blow both our covers." She looked up at him, and smiled slyly. "Want to settle this outside?"

He grinned. "I can hardly wait."

* * *

A/N: Yes, yes, I know this is really, really late. But I got tied up with a lot of things, so I didn't have time to write for a while. But anyway, hope you're liking this fic so far :D 

Shinja-chan: You know would make you go more insane? Bob the Yakuza's evil twin. LOL Now, THAT'S one very disturbing thought...

Atropos' Knife: She prefers good 'ole makeup to lasering hehe :) Yeah, I also find it hard to write more than one fic at a time. There's a train of thought that I have to follow, and if I follow a different train of thought, then the first one kind of gets lost. Oh, I forgot to mention that the jellyfish thing in "Rock the Boat" really cracked me up. Poor, poor Ban. Maybe we should set up an organization called, "The Society of Ban-torturers" :D

Rabid Lola: Yes, it's not a twin sister thing. That would just complicate things hehe :)

Tastywheat: I knew you weren't suggesting on me revising it. It was the OC in me who wanted to :D And yes, I do appreciate your nitpicking, so nitpick some more :D

Zining: Hey, there! Her tattoos are permanent ;) It's just that it's not very wise to have identifying marks when you're undercover, so she has to hide them sometimes :) Hope you do well in your exams, girl! And it's my turn to tell you to update your fic soon LOL

(1) _Irezumi_ is the art of Japanese tattoos. The Yakuza has adopted the custom of getting elaborate tattoos done all over their body. The process of getting these tattoos is extremely painful, thus the Yakuza take this as a measure of a member's high tolerance for pain and is considered an indication that they can endure great hardships.


	4. Ban vs Iarra

Disclaimer: Mayumi-san still does not have enough money to buy the Get Backers. Therefore, GB is still owned by Ayamine Rando and Aoki Yuya.

* * *

**IV. Ban vs. Iarra**

The elevator doors in the hotel lobby opened, and a tuxedoed man with spiky hair and purple glasses stepped out, followed by a girl in a long black gown. The hotel concierge took a look at them, his eyes stopping at a pair of bright blue eyes peeking out of purple glasses looking back at him. He had been informed that the hotel will be full of Yakuza that night, so he knew that he was bound to see all sorts of people that he wouldn't normally want to associate with. The man's eyes seem to bore into his, making his pulse start racing. He was also told to just go about his business and look away if he ever noticed anything. So he did. He quickly looked down at the concierge desk, forcing himself to be preoccupied with the list of guest requests that he had to deal with that night.

Iarra placed her hand on Ban's right arm. She could feel his arm tense up as he turned his head to look at her.

"Try not to look too murderous", she whispered.

Before he could say anything, she giggled and turned to the right, pulling Ban's arm as she walked.

Out of the corner of his eye, the concierge watched as the mizu shobai girl whispered something in the man's ear, then playfully pulled him towards the direction of the gardens. As soon as they were out of sight, he sighed in relief.

* * *

Ginji's big brown eyes had been scanning the room, looking out for the man named Tomita Shunji. He had no success so far, as he had found no trace of the guy who stole their client's ring.

"Would you like some, sir?", a server asked him.

The big brown eyes landed on the tray of goodies the server was offering him. On it were different kinds of sushi, meticulously arranged in a decorative pattern.

"Oh, thank you!", Ginji said as he picked one up and stuffed it in his mouth.

It's got tamago (1), Ginji thought as he chewed. He loved tamago. Just as the server turned to the next guest, Ginji grabbed another one, surprising the server.

"They're good," Ginji said with a grin.

"Would you like some more, sir?"

"Sure!", a chibi-fied Ginji exclaimed.

Chibi Ginji proceeded to munch on the rest of the sushi, oblivious to a pair of green eyes that were now watching him.

* * *

A pathway made up of small gray stones marks the entrance to the kaiyu-shiki (2). On the right side of the pathway were bamboo plants growing amidst ornamental shrubs. On the left was a stone lantern. The full moon floated in the sky and illuminated the garden in a silvery, almost magical glow.

The serenity was interrupted by the sound of a pair of stiletto heels crunching against the stone pathway, followed by the heavier sound of a pair of oxfords. Two silhouettes began to make their way deeper into the garden, passing by groups of Japanese black pine trees, rocks, shrubs, and moss-covered grounds.

The two figures stopped as they reached two cherry trees, which marked the next vantage point. And what a vantage point it was. A small pond, dotted with water lilies, was before them. The stone pathway curves to the right of the pond's edge, beckoning to the wooden bridge that archs over the middle of the pond. At the left, a partially submerged boulder showed its tip. Completing the scene was the tranquil glow of the moon, reflecting all these elements into the still waters of the pond.

"Beautiful, isn't it?", Iarra said softly.

"It is," Ban replied. "Why don't you just stay here, then?"

Iarra chuckled, but didn't reply back. She continued to stare at the scene in front of her. She wasn't here to appreciate this beauty, unfortunately. Her face hardened. She was here to fight.

She could feel Ban's muscles tensing up, possibly sensing the change in her. Her senses went high on alert, as she anticipated Ban's move.

And move he did. He lunged for her throat with his right hand, only to grab air. Iarra had flipped backwards to avoid his attack. She flipped again, this time throwing two daggers at Ban.

Ban leapt to the side, evading the daggers. Iarra landed on the half-submerged boulder on the pond. As she crouched down, the two daggers went flying to each of her hands.

Where did she hide those?, Ban wondered, looking at the daggers. He then shrugged internally. It doesn't matter. He knew she wouldn't come unarmed, anyway.

She threw both daggers at him. He dodged her attacks easily, then charged at her. She flipped backwards again, reaching out for her daggers and throwing them at Ban. She landed on the railing of the wooden bridge. As Ban landed on the boulder where Iarra had previously been, she reached out again, summoning her daggers.

Ban looked up at her. Iarra was at the highest point in the arch of the wooden bridge. The light from the moon gave everything, including his opponent's features, a soft, almost peaceful, glow.

She's right, Ban thought. It _is_ beautiful in here.

She winced, breaking Ban out of his reverie. She looked down and saw that her skirt had a tear at her left hip.

"Heh", Ban said. "You can't be doing the same tricks if you want to defeat me, Dagger Babe."

Iarra turned to him, her eyes narrowed to slits, but said nothing. She flipped the daggers in her hands, then threw them both at Ban. Ban leapt high to land on the other side of the bridge. Before she was able to summon her dagger, Ban lunged at her. She reacted quickly, spreading her black scarf wide, causing Ban to lose sight of her momentarily as she leapt back. She landed on the stone pathway, kneeling on one knee as the two daggers flew back into her hands.

She heard Ban curse. She looked up and saw him wipe the right side of his neck. He cursed again as he glanced at his hand and saw blood.

How the hell did she manage to cut him?, Ban thought. He felt a mild stinging sensation on his neck. She must be using some sort of chemical on her daggers. He narrowed his eyes. Her daggers. They were nowhere near him when it happened. She must have other weapons. But where?

He charged at her again. In response, she threw her daggers at him, which he dodged while continuing to charge at her. She spread her scarf again, creating a black screen as she jumped high over Ban.

"You can't pull the same trick twice," Ban said as he caught the scarf. Just as he finished his sentence, he felt the end of the scarf move toward his right shoulder. Ducking, he put up his hand to grab whatever caused the scarf to move. He looked at what he had grabbed and saw a black dagger. To his dismay, he realized that he had grabbed the blade end, and not the handle. Before he could even curse, his instincts told him of danger above. He followed his instincts and rolled, letting go of the scarf.

Two daggers landed on the spot where he had just been. Now he could curse. And curse he did, as he glanced at his right hand and saw two cuts from where he held the blade. He felt the same kind of sting on the cuts on his hand as he did the one on his neck. He looked up and saw Iarra back at the bridge. Reaching out her hands, her scarf flew back towards her, her hands catching the ends, which as Ban had discovered, concealed two black daggers.

No longer finding the need to conceal them, she threw the scarf to the ground, leaving just the black daggers in her hands. She then summoned her other two daggers. She now had two sets of daggers in each hand. She held the two silver blades forward, with the blades extending out the front of her hand. The two black blades extended at the opposite end of her hand as she held them in an underhanded grip, making the two blades look like one double-sided weapon. She crouched down, ready to attack.

* * *

Chibi Ginji licked his fingers as he sat on the floor with his back on the wall, satisfied.

Just then, a pair of black pant legs appeared in front of him, obscuring his vision of the rest of the ballroom. Slowly, he looked up. The black pant legs belonged to a dark-haired skinny man in a tuxedo, smiling as he looked down at Ginji.

"Hi, there," he said.

"Hi", Ginji replied.

The man sat down on the floor next to Ginji. He looked about the same age as Ginji. He turned to the chibified creature next to him, his dark hair framing his seemingly amused bright green eyes.

"Did you like the food?", he asked.

"Oh, yes! It was sooo good," he exclaimed, then frowned. "Too bad Ban-chan isn't here."

"Ban-chan?", the guy asked.

"My partner", Ginji answered.

Ginji turned back to his normal form. "I'm Amano Ginji of the Get Backers."

"Ahh", the man said. "I'm Takeda Shinya. Pleased to meet you."

* * *

They charged at each other, with Iarra throwing two daggers ahead of her towards Ban, then trying to stab him as he evaded. His speed was his ally, so he managed to escape her attacks while throwing his own. She didn't have the same speed, which was still incredible, but she was used to fighting with men that were bigger and faster than her. What she lacked in swiftness compared to her opponent, she made up for in technique. A basic knowledge in her training was to use your opponent's strength against him. And this opponent had a lot of strength.

They continued to launch and evade attacks. Soon enough, what was once a pristine area now looked like a battlefield. Parts of the railing of the wooden bridge was falling off. The rocks that made up the pathway were now scattered all over, no longer following the premeditated path that the garden 's designers had intended.

Iarra and Ban were now on each end of the bridge, panting as they eyed each other, each in their battle stances. Keeping a close eye on him, she threw two daggers again, intending to throw the other two to where he would land. But to her surprise, he disappeared.

The next thing she knew, a hand had formed around her neck from behind her, pushing her down to her knees. She gasped.

"It's been interesting studying your fighting style, but we've wasted enough time," she heard Ban say behind her as he held her neck in a tight grip. "It ends here."

When she started to struggle, he continued, "You can't escape from my 200-kg grip. Give it up, Dagger Babe. A little bit more effort in my part and your neck snaps."

"Mido," she started to say, but stopped when she heard the sound of footsteps coming from the rock pathway where she and Ban had entered the pond area.

Ban had heard it, too. His head flicked in the direction of the pathway. Iarra wasted no time taking advantage of his distraction. She threw a dagger at his leg, which made Ban jump. Freeing herself from his deadly grip, she rolled down the bridge, summoning her dagger as she stood upright.

An elderly couple emerged from the shadows of the cherry trees. They stopped, shocked at the sight of destruction before them.

"What happened in here?", the elderly man asked.

Ban looked back at Iarra. Or rather, where Iarra had been. Puzzled, he looked quickly around, but she was nowhere to be found. He looked back at the couple, whose mouths were wide open.

The elderly woman looked up at Ban then spoke, "What did you do?"

Turning chibi, he said, "It wasn't me!" Right after he said that, the support holding the bridge railing together right in front of Ban gave way, letting the rest of the railing fall into the pond with a big splash.

"Heh-heh", Ban chuckled guiltily as the couple stared at him.

* * *

"Pleased to meet you, too," Ginji replied.

"So Amano Ginji of the Get Backers," Shinya said. "What brings you here?"

"A job. Ban-chan and I are supposed to get something back."

"Ban-chan. You mean, Mido Ban?", Shinya asked.

Ginji nodded. "Do you know him?"

"Not personally. It's just my job to know these things."

Ginji looked at him. "What do you mean?"

"I'm an information specialist."

Seeing Ginji's blank expression, he continued, "If you want information on anything or anyone, I'm the man."

Shinya let that knowledge sink in, then proceeded, "So about this job.. What exactly are you looking for? I might be able to help."

"Why do you want to help us?", Ginji asked.

Shunya shrugged. "No reason, really." He paused, then continued, "I have a gift. Or should I say, a curse?" He turned to Ginji, and said, "I have eidetic memory."

At Ginji's puzzled expression, he explained, "I have photographic memory. Everything I see or read, I remember. That's what got me into the information business. I mostly work for the Kagerou-kai, the Yakuza clan that's hosting this event. Sometimes, I do my own side jobs. Occasionally, I give out information for no other reason than I just want to."

Ginji met his gaze, brown eyes on green. He may not be as smart as Ban-chan, but he knew that he was a better judge of character than his partner. Assessing the man next to him, he decided that he did not see any threat.

"So Ginji-san," Shunya said. "What are you looking for?"

"A ring," he replied.

Shinya's eyebrows shot up. "A ring, you say?"

"Yes. A bloodstone ring. A man named Tomita Shunji is supposed to have it."

"I see," Shunya said. "Tomita Shunji is a member of the Kagerou-kai. He's a sokaiya. But I bet you already know that."

Ginji nodded.

"He'll be here soon," Shunya said. Then he stood up, his expression turning more serious. "I'm sorry, Ginji-san, you seem like a very likeable person, and I would like us to remain friends, but I have my own job to do. For your own sake, and that of your partner, I would advise you to leave this place."

Ginji looked up at him, confused. "Why?"

"It's my job to inform the clan of anything that may prevent transactions from going smoothly." Turning towards a group of businessmen in tuxedos, he looked back at Ginji, an apologetic expression on his face.

"Please leave," he said again. He started walking towards the businessmen, then stopped. He turned his face towards Ginji again, then said, "Besides, you're not the only one who's after the ring."

With that, he turned and walked quickly, his tuxedo blending in among the businessmen, making Ginji lose sight of him.

* * *

A/N: Hello, everyone! After 6 years of hiding, Mayumi-san has returned. Yes, it's been 6 years since I last updated this fic. To my previous readers, I do apologize for the super long wait. If you're still out there, do give me a holler!

To new readers, do give me a shout as well and tell me what you think. I would love to hear from you :) (start shameless plug) You may want to read "The Silver Claw" for the back story (end shameless plug).

But one thing remains unchanged in my experience in writing GB fanfics: action scenes are hard to write. I see it in my mind, but finding words to describe it is always a challenge. So if you find it confusing, do let me know and I'll try my best to do better in the next chapter.

Mayumi-san out.

(1) Tamago is a sweet egg omelet. Just to refresh your memory, it had been shown in Episode 40 that it is one of Ginji's favorite foods.

(2) Kaiyu-shiki or "Strolling Garden" is a Japanese garden style consisting of different "vantage points" connected by a pathway. The design uses the principle of "hide and reveal", where not all vantage points are revealed at once.


	5. Divisi

Disclaimer: The Get Backers is not owned by Mayumi-san.

A/N: I acknowledge that this chapter has a lot of scene jumping. I felt I had to do it since different things were happening at around the same time, and some of the same events had to be told from different POVs. I hope it wasn't confusing.

* * *

**V. Divisi**

The hotel lounge was fairly empty. A lone patron sat at the bar, his back hunched over as he drowned his sorrows with his fifth shot of whiskey. The bartender stood behind the bar, busying himself with wiping some wine glasses as he waited for his only customer to order his sixth shot. In one corner table of the lounge was a couple, engrossed with flirting and saying sweet nothings into each other's ears.

Just then, the door leading to the gardens opened, and a girl stumbled in. She looked like a mess. Her disheveled hair fell down to her waist, with some strands framing her dirt-stricken face. She rested her right arm against the wall to steady herself, then giggled at herself. She seemed to notice that the hotel loungers were staring at her, so she straightened up and gave them a big grin, blinking as she fought to keep her eyelids open.

"I'm alright," she said with a slur, waving her hand to signal to them to carry on. "Don't worry about me."

The lady in the corner table looked at her from head to toe then shook her head in disgust, then whispered something to the man across from her. The man at the bar continued downing his whiskey, then signalled to the bartender for another shot, which made the bartender shift his gaze from the drunk girl across the room to the work at hand.

Iarra knew that she looked like a disaster, so acting like she had too much fun seemed like the best thing to do to attract less attention. So far, it seemed to be working. Continuing her inebriated walk, she continued making her way across the lounge. After losing her scarf in her recent scuffle, she had to let her hair down to hide the black daggers that she had holstered to the back of her bodice. Her eyes flitted over to her left hip, to where a big hole in her black dress was now gaping at her.

_Damn_, she thought. The appearance of Mido Ban had really messed up her plan. Crossing her right hand over to her hip, she covered the hole then sighed. Plus, she had that partner of his to deal with as well. She would have to act quickly before things get more complicated.

* * *

Amano Ginji furrowed his brows in concern, pondering what the information specialist Takeda Shinya had just told him. So someone else is after the ring. He had to tell Ban-chan.

His frown deepened. Where was he, anyway?

"Ice cream, sir?", another server was asked him, interrupting his thoughts. He was holding a tray holding martini glasses. Each martini glass contained small squares of cake topped with vanilla ice cream, sprinkled with toasted walnuts, and drizzled with dark chocolate sauce.

Taking Ginji's longing look at the desserts as a 'yes', the server smiled and proceeded to hand him one of the martini glasses and a small silver spoon.

"Enjoy!", he said as he turned and walked to the other guests.

Ginji dipped his spoon into the glass and scooped up a bit of the ice cream. He put the spoon in his mouth and as he slid the spoon out, his eyes watered as he turned chibi again, exclaiming, "Soooo gooood!"

He devoured the rest of the dessert in no time, using the spoon to scoop out the last drops of chocolate sauce that ended up at the bottom of the glass. Determined to get the last of the chocolate sauce, he started to stick his tongue out to lick the glass when suddenly, he felt a sharp flick on his right ear.

"Ow!", he exclaimed.

"Ginji, what the hell are you doing?", a voice said.

Turning to the direction of the voice, his eyes shifted focus from the last bits of chocolate sauce to the bright blue eyes of his partner Mido Ban.

"This is no time to fool around," Ban said, scowling.

"Ban-chan!", Ginji said. "I've been wondering where you were."

"Have you now?", Ban said, raising one eyebrow. "You looked pretty darn busy to me."

"Hehe," Ginji smiled sheepishly as he turned back to his normal form. "They kept offering me food."

The dreamy look in his partner's big brown eyes as he said the word 'food' made Ban chuckle.

"So," Ban said, turning serious. "Any sign of Tomita?"

"No, but Shinya-kun said he'll be here soon."

"Who?"

"Shinya-kun. He's an information specialist that I've been chatting with. Friendly guy."

"Annaiya?", Ban asked incredulously. "You didn't tell him why we're here, did you?"

Instead of answering the question, Ginji turned chibi again and said, "Eh... hehehe."

"Ginji, you baka!", Ban said, picking up his chibi-fied partner by the neck and was about to squeeze the living daylights out of the petrified stuffed toy, but stopped when he noticed that some of the people around them were staring.

"I'm sorry, Ban-chan!", chibi Ginji cried out. "He said he might be able to help us."

Ban took a deep breath to calm himself down. "So did you learn anything from him?", he asked.

"Yes, I did!", Ginji said excitedly. "He said we're not the only ones after the ring."

Ban scowled and said, "That would be Dagger Babe."

Ginji looked at Ban, puzzled. "Iarra-chan?", he asked. Then his face brightened as he started waving his arms and legs up and down in an impromptu dance. "So it _is_ her!"

"Don't get so excited, Ginji," Ban said, his scowl growing deeper as he dropped his hold on his partner. "She just tried to kill me."

Chibi Ginji bounced on the floor before turning back to his normal form.

Ban pointed to the slash on his neck. He flexed his right hand, showing Ginji the other two cuts. Okay, he was exaggerating, but he did still feel some tingling on those cuts. "Damn freak put something funny in those daggers."

"I'm sure she wasn't trying to kill you, Ban-chan," Ginji said.

"Whose side are you on?", Ban asked, giving him an irritated look. "First, you start being chummy with this annaiya. Next, you start defending Dagger Freak. Stop thinking that everybody's your friend, Ginji." He sighed. "This job isn't going as smoothly as I thought."

"Ban-chan", Ginji suddenly said.

"What?"

"Look," Ginji replied, his eyes fixed on the main door to the ballroom.

Ban followed his gaze, and saw what caught Ginji's attention.

A man had just entered the ballroom. He was wearing a tuxedo just like the rest of the men in the room. But unlike the rest of the men in the room, he was being followed by a skinny lad in an awkward-looking tux and had four burly men in black suits encircling him. The man's face matched the one in the picture that the Get Backers' client has shown them.

"Finally," Ban muttered. "It's about time he showed up."

Tomita Shunji, the man that the retrieval duo had been waiting for, made his way across the room with his assistant, his four bodyguards trailing along, making sure that no harm would befall their high-paying client. He stopped to talk to another man, presumably also a part of the Yakuza, who bowed his head to him in greeting.

Ban looked at his partner, who nodded back at him.

The retrieval duo furtively made their way across the floor, past the other guests, some waltzing couples, and a server holding a tray of filled up champagne glasses. Just as they got closer to their target, they split directions, with Ban heading toward's Tomita's right side, and Ginji towards the other, regrouping after passing by Tomita's bodyguards.

As soon as the partners were within earshot of the other, Ban said, "I didn't see it. Did you?"

"No, he wasn't wearing any rings," Ginji replied.

"Okay, time for me to work, then."

Ban made his way back, stopping when he reached the general direction of Tomita's line of sight.

* * *

Tomita looked at his watch. It read _7:50pm_.

_Oh, I thought I still had half an hour_, he thought.

"Please excuse me, Edano-san," he said to the man next to him. "But I need to attend to some matters."

"Of course Tomita-san," the other man replied, bowing his head as he did so.

Tomita made his way back to the entrance of the ballroom, his assistant and bodyguards still trailing after him, towards the hotel elevators. Once inside, his assistant pressed the button for the 19th floor.

Once there, he made his way swiftly, stopping at the door marked 1905, which his assistant opened by swiping an access card. Two guards in the room had stood up at attention and bowed to Tomita as soon as he came in. Tomita acknowledged them, then went straight to the briefcase that was resting on the hotel room's coffee table. He pressed his right thumb onto a small scanner embedded on top of the briefcase. The scanner lit up and a soft whirring sound was heard, unlocking the briefcase. He laid it on the coffee table, and opened it. Inside were several file folders, important documents that he needed for his meeting. His hand then reached into the backpocket of the briefcase, pulling out a small box.

He opened the box, revealing a gold ring topped with a large round-cut bloodstone. Seeming to dance amidst the deep green color of the stone were spots of crimson red, giving the gem its name.

Tomita smiled.

* * *

"Tomita-san," the man said. "Are you alright?"

Tomita looked at the man next to him, whose face was lined with concern. He looked around and saw the waltzing couples, the servers holding trays of delectable morsels of food and sprakling glasses.

He realized that he was still in the ballroom. Furrowing his brow in confusion, he looked at his watch. It read _7:32pm_. His frown deepened.

_Did I just have a dream?_, he thought.

* * *

Ban adjusted his glasses.

_So it's 1905, huh?_, he thought with a smirk. That should be easy enough. He was making his way back to Ginji when he felt the sensation of being watched. Looking around, he saw the source of that sensation.

"Fancy seeing you here," Iarra said, appearing beside him. She smiled as she took a sip from the champagne glass in her hand.

"Can't say that I'm pleasantly surprised," Ban said in reply.

She looked more cleaned up than when she first entered the hotel lounge area. Her face had been wiped of dirt, and her long hair had been smoothened out, Japanese pine needles no longer entwined in her wavy locks. Wrapped around her shoulders was a silk burgundy shawl that covered the hole in her dress that Ban had made earlier during their fight. Come to think of it, the shawl looked suspiciously similar to the hotel window curtains, Ban thought.

"Nice shawl," he said wryly.

"This old thing?" she responded, smiling as she blinked innocently up at him. "Why, thank you. It does go very well with malfunctioning wardrobes caused by certain miscreants."

"Iarra-chan!", Ginji, who suddenly appeared next to them, exclaimed.

"Ginji", Iarra replied, smiling at the blond half of the Get Backers. "How nice to see you."

"I'm glad you're acting normally now. You were very good in making us believe it wasn't you. I was beginning to have doubts, but Ban-chan knew. He's very smart."

Iarra glanced at Ban, who gave her a yeah-that's-right look. She smiled. "I'm sure he is, Ginji, but do you really think yelling out our names right now is a good idea?"

"Oh," Ginji said, sweat-dropping. "Right."

"So...", Ginji said, more softly this time. "Are we really after the same target?"

Iarra took another sip of champagne. "It appears so, unfortunately."

"Yeah, unfortunately for you," Ban said. "Think of our little garden rendezvous as just a preview. You might not be so lucky next time."

Meeting his gaze steadily, she said, "We'll see."

She then shifted her gaze. "We might have to put that on hold, though. Looks like we've got some friends to say hi to."

Looking in the direction of her gaze, Ban and Ginji spotted six Yakuza-type guards a few feet away walking towards them. They stopped beside Ban and Ginji.

"Excuse me, sirs, but can you two please come with us?", one of the guards asked, motioning to the Get Backers while surreptitiously pulling back the lower part of his suit, revealing a gun.

Ban glanced at the gun, then at Iarra, then back at the guard. "Just us?", he asked.

"Yes, sir. Come with us quietly and there'll be no trouble."

Ban gave Iarra a dirty look. She responded by smiling smugly and taking the last sip of her champagne.

"Sneaky," he muttered.

"I had nothing to do with it," she replied.

"Riiight."

He knew Ginji and him could take on those guards. He also knew that he could easily wring that pretty neck of hers and wipe that smirk off her face. But he also knew that if he did that right there, Tomita would be alerted and would probably move their target somewhere else. And then they'd have to start all over again. No, fighting the Yakuza at this time would not be wise.

Actually, he had a better option, Ban thought as he smiled back at Iarra.

"It's not over yet," he muttered at her as he motioned to Ginji to just let themselves be led away by the guards.

The guards walked out of the ballroom, encircling Ban and Ginji. They led the pair towards the lobby. As soon as they got there, they heard a voice say, "Where the hell are you going?"

They stopped. Right in the middle of their group was their wakashu (1). They looked at each other, confused.

"The troublemaker is in the ballroom," the wakashu continued. He reached into his pocket and produced a picture of a girl with long wavy hair. "This is your target, remember? Now hurry up and get her before she causes any disruption."

The guards looked at the picture, then at each other, then back at the wakashu. "Yes, boss. Right away."

With that, they turned around and headed back to where they came from.

At the hotel lobby, Ban and Ginji stood as they watched the Yakuza guards walk away.

"I hope our lovely damsel likes our little present," Ban said with a chuckle. "Too bad we need to get going. I would've loved to see the look on her face."

* * *

"Please excuse me, Edano-san," he said to the man next to him. "But I need to attend to some matters."

"Of course Tomita-san," the other man replied, bowing his head as he did so.

_Very odd_, Tomita thought he felt a sense of déjà vu. He had been feeling uneasy since his... what would you call it?... Vision? Hallucination? Whatever it was, it left him feeling more paranoid than usual, so he decided that he shouldn't be taking any chances.

"Yosuke," he said to his assistant, the skinny lad who had been following him around.

"Hai."

"Please tell them we're starting the meeting. We're going in early."

"Hai."

"And make sure the object is there."

"Hai."

* * *

Iarra put her empty champagne glass away as she watched the guards lead Ban and Ginji out the door.

That was an unexpected surprise. So somebody had been alerted to the presence of the Get Backers, but not hers. She wondered briefly who it was, but then decided that since she wasn't compromised, it wasn't important. What mattered was that now she knew who Tomita Shunji was, thanks to the Get Backers. Watching Mido use the Jagan on somebody else was quite fascinating.

_That would be Jagan Usage Number One_, she thought.

Now back to the matter at hand. But before she could even begin to look around for Tomita, the group of guards that led Ban and Ginji away came back in through the entrance to the ballroom.

_They're back already?_, she thought. _But it's only been a minute... _She stopped. _One minute._ She chuckled in spite of herself. _Of course._

The eyes of one of the guards landed on Iarra. He whispered to the guard beside him, pointing at her.

"Shit," she muttered.

They began to make their way towards her. Iarra moved quickly. She positioned herself behind a group of tuxedo-clad men, hiding from the guards' line of sight. She noticed a server holding a tray of glasses of red wine walking towards the direction of the guards. Reaching into the slit of her skirt, she pulled out a dagger and threw it towards the server. The dagger hit the underside of the tray that the server was holding, making the tray fly from the his hold. Before he had time to react, the dagger flew back into its owner's hand.

The tray flew onto the face of the leading guard, spilling red wine all over him. The wine glasses then hit the floor, shattering in a million pieces.

"I'm so sorry," the server gasped.

After the momentary distraction, the guards turned their attention back to where they had last seen Iarra. They quickly walked around the group of men in tuxedos, looking at each person that was close by, but she was nowhere to be found.

* * *

"Ma'am, guests are not authorized to be in here," a cook said.

Iarra ignored him.

_Very clever, Mido_, she thought as she continued walking quickly through the ballroom kitchen, passing by counters filled with all sorts of hors d'oeuvres. But that would be Jagan Usage Number Two. That left one more, if he hadn't used it yet before coming to the ballroom.

She knew that the Jagan wasn't the only thing Mido had up his sleeve. He would still be quite a formidable opponent even without it. But at least it would reduce the threat. Somewhat. But then, add Ginji to the mix, and boy, she knew she would be in trouble if she had to face both of them.

_Time for Plan B_, she thought as she pushed the door to the exit. She would just have to make sure she avoided the Get Backers as much as she could.

* * *

There was a lot of rustling in Room 1905. The retrieval duo had broken through the door, expecting to find Tomita's goons. But to their surprise, there was nobody there. And no briefcase. So they resorted to overturning pretty much everything in the room, trying to find even just a trace of their target.

"Ban-chan, it's not here," Ginji said. "Are you sure it's the right room?"

"Of course, I'm sure!," Ban retorted. "Keep looking!"

After a few more unproductive minutes of rummaging through drawers, Ban clenched his fist in frustration and grumbled, "Dammit! He must've moved it."

He took a deep breath to calm himself as he thought about what they should do next. He tried recalling what Tomita had revealed to him through the Jagan.

Finally, he said, "He mentioned he had matters to attend to." Looking back at his partner, he continued, "And we're gonna figure out where that is."

"How, Ban-chan?"

Ban paused. 'How' was a good question. Then he remembered the hotel concierge that seemed about ready to wet his pants when he first stepped out of the elevator with Iarra.

He gave his partner a mischevious grin and said, "The concierge seems pretty friendly. I'm sure he'd be very helpful."

* * *

It was a small conference room on the 20th floor, the topmost floor of the hotel. At the head of the rectangular mahogany table sat Tomita. By his side was his assistant. Behind him stood all of his bodyguards. In front of them was a large video screen showing a middle-aged man wearing a black suit.

"It's unexpected, yes," the man in the video screen said. "But I understand that you are eager to proceed with the transaction."

"Yes, I am, Shinzaki-san," Tomita said. "It is of great importance that we do not delay."

A knock on the door interrupted their conversation. Tomita motioned to his assistant, who immediately stood and walked towards the door. The guards stood at attention, putting their hands on their guns, ready to fire in case of a threat.

The assistant opened the door, revealing a hotel attendant.

"Room service," the hotel attendant said.

She was wearing a white blouse with a black satin ribbon on the front, a white apron around her waist, and black pants. Her hair was tied up in a simple ponytail. Beside her stood a cart covered in white linen, and on the cart were bottles of sake.

"We received an order for two bottles of sake?", she said as she held up a piece of paper.

The assistant blinked at her. "Uhh.. I don't think we ordered sake."

"Oh," she said, frowning in confusion as she looked back at the piece of paper in her hand. "It must be a mistake, then. Sorry about that."

As soon as the assistant closed the door, Iarra smiled. Now she knew where the meeting was held. Step One of Plan B went smoothly. Step Two would be to get a few more bits of information.

She pushed the cart towards the next room and opened the door. Thank goodness it was empty, she thought.

She pushed the cart inside and closed the door behind her. Quickly, she moved to the wall connecting the two rooms. She then reached underneath the white linen covering the cart and pulled out a small laser ear (2). She pressed the contact microphone onto the wall and put on the receiving headphones, adjusting the knobs on the device to amplify the sounds.

"...glad that you are able to obtain this valuable item," she heard a voice say.

_So, Tomita does have it_, Iarra thought.

The voice continued, "I've heard that the Kagerou-kai is one of the best Yakuza clans to do business with, and I'm glad that you did not disappoint."

"I trust that this will be the start of a good business relationship," another voice said.

"It is a good start, Tomita-san. Now if you could deliver the item here, we can proceed with the next part of our transaction."

"I'll be on my way after this meeting."

"Good. We will prepare for your arrival."

"Thank you, Shinzaki-san."

Iarra frowned as she heard the name of the man that Tomita was speaking to.

There was a bit of silence, then Tomita's voice continued, "Yosuke."

"Hai."

"Prepare our transportation."

"Hai."

Iarra heard the door open, then close. After that, all she heard was some ruffling of papers and a clicking sound which she presumed would be something locking. Convinced that there was nothing else that she needed to hear, she was about to turn the laser ear off, when she heard the sound of the door being kicked open. She stopped and listened some more. The next things she heard were thuds, a couple of gunshots, some moans, and... sizzles? She then felt a sudden jolt of electricity from the wall, travelling from the microphone up to her ears.

"Aaargh!", she moaned, throwing the headset to the floor.

"Ginji", she muttered. Recovering from the mild shock, she quickly ran out the door, in time to see Tomita bolting towards the elevators with a briefcase in hand. He turned left towards the elevator area.

She ran after him. He had already reached the elevator when she pulled out a dagger from a holster hidden by the white apron that she was wearing. Tomita saw her and frantically kept pressing the elevator button. She threw the dagger at him, but the dagger ended up on the elevator door that, thankfully for Tomita, had closed just in time.

She ran up to the elevator, pulling her dagger off the door as she watched the elevator display to see where Tomita was headed. It went up. Since this was the topmost floor, she knew that there was only one thing that could be found above: the helipad.

The sound of somebody running alerted Iarra's senses. She tensed up.

Appearing suddenly from the hallway was Mido Ban, who stopped when he saw her, dagger in hand. He narrowed his eyes, and clenched his fist, ready to attack.

To his surprise, she put her dagger back in its holster. She turned in the opposite direction and started running towards the other hallway.

"Oi!", he yelled out, running after her. "Where do you think you're going?"

Ginji, who had appeared just in time to see Ban disappear behind the opposite corridor, started running after him. "Ban-chan! Wait for meee!"

Iarra opened the door to the emergency stairwell and got in. Ban ran after her, with Ginji close behind. She ran up to the top, reaching another door, which she pushed open. As soon as she bolted out the door, she froze. Behind her, Ban also burst through the door, followed by Ginji. The Get Backers understood now what made Iarra stop in her tracks.

A number of Yakuza guards stood facing them, all with guns now pointed at the three intruders. Behind them, a helicopter was already getting ready for takeoff, its rotor blades spinning faster and faster.

* * *

A/N: This chapter's title is a musical term that literally means "divided". In a piece of music, divisi indicates that the particular section is to be split into two or more separate parts, but are written on the same staff. I see this chapter as being similar, since I had to think of two separate ways (the Get Backers' and Iarra's) of getting to the same target.

I know that the story's been very slow so far, but do stick around. It should get faster from this point on.

Oh, and I changed this fic's summary to something that I feel is more appropriate. I didn't really have a solid plot when I first started writing this, so I wrote the first thing that came to mind, which didn't really say anything.

(1) Wakashu is a junior leader in the Yakuza clan hierarchy.

(2) A laser ear is a type of audio surveillance equipment that uses infrared lasers pointed at the window pane of the room to be monitored. It picks up the sound vibrations from speech, and reflects it back to a receiver that converts the vibrations to electronic signals, which are then interpreted back into audible voice. Since it's problematic for me to incorporate window panes in this fic, what Iarra used here was something more of a GSS Infra-Red Stethoscope, which can pick up audio through walls. I decided to just call it "laser ear" since it sounds cooler than "GSS IR Stethoscope". Heh.


	6. Affretando

Disclaimer: I'm just a fan. Don't sue me, Ayamine-sama and Aoki-sama. Please?

A/N: The previous chapter seemed a bit slow, didn't it? Sorry about that. I thought it was needed to set up the story. This one hopefully picks up the pace. My inspiration for this chapter is the song "J" from the Get Backers OST 1. I recommend listening to it while reading the fast scenes (you can find the song on YouTube), and keep playing it until the action ends. C'mon, try it! :)

* * *

**VI. Affrettando**

"Very nice, Dagger Freak. Couldn't you have chosen a better-looking welcoming comittee?", the dark-haired retriever named Mido Ban asked, hands in his pockets as his eyes surveyed the scene of dozens of black-suited Yakuza guards with their guns drawn and pointed at himself, his partner Amano Ginji, and Iarra, the girl standing next to him.

"Nobody asked you to follow me," Iarra retorted.

"There he is," Ginji said as he motioned to the man whose face was peeking out of the helicopter that was almost ready to take off. "He's getting away."

Ban looked past the guards towards Tomita Shunji, the man who had their target. "Not if we can help it!"

And with that, he charged at the Yakuza guards, yelling, "Snakebite!", as he grabbed the faces of the two nearest Yakuza guards and sent them flying towards their comrades.

Iarra, who was still surveying the scene looking for an efficient way to get around the guards, scowled in frustration as Ban's sudden move forced her to take action. She leaped high just as the guards opened fire, muttering, "Mido, you reckless son-of-a..."

At the same time, sparks flew from Giji's hands as he rushed forward, taking some guards down before they even had time to react.

The next scene consisted of a whirlwind of gunshots, daggers, flashes of electricity, and flying Yakuza guards. It wasn't long before the Yakuza guards realized that they were quickly diminishing in numbers.

The helicopter started to lift off the ground. Iarra focused her attention from the guards and threw a dagger at the rapidly elevating aircraft, hitting one of the side doors.

One of the last guards standing took advantage of Iarra's distracton and aimed a gun at her. Iarra noticed him and flipped back while pulling a smaller dagger from one of her boot tops. She hurled it at the guard. It hit his shoulder and he fell down to the ground.

She turned back to the helicopter, whose rotor blades seemed to turn frantically as it continued in its accelerated flight away from the scene. She held her hand up, and her dagger flew back from the helicopter door back towards her.

* * *

Tomita Shunji stared out the helicopter window, alarmed at how the dozens of Yakuza guards just fell one after the other. He gasped as one of the intruders hit the helicopter door with her dagger.

The helicopter soon took off, leaving the tumultuous scene below. He slowly let out the breath that he had been holding as the image of the hotel building got smaller and smaller.

He gave his assistant an anxious look, then said, "Yosuke."

"Hai," his assistant replied.

"I think we're going to need a protector."

"Hai, Tomita-san," his assistant agreed.

* * *

Ban walked up beside Iarra just in time to hear her curse under her breath. Ginji, who had taken care of the remaining guards, walked up beside Ban to join the two in staring after the retreating form of the helicopter.

Iarra sighed as she put her dagger back in its holster. She then summoned her smaller dagger that was on the last Yakuza guard, and lifted her knee up, putting it back inside her boot top.

They continued to stare up at the sky as the helicopter's form grew smaller and smaller, its lights blending in with the rest of the stars above.

Finally, Ban broke the silence. Watching her out of the corner of his eye, he asked, "You wouldn't happen to know where they're headed, would you?"

She glanced at him briefly, then turned back to staring at the sky. She furrowed her brows as she thought back to the conversation that she had overheard, or rather, eavesdropped on.

Shinzaki-san. That was the name of the man that Tomita was talking to, a name that she was very familiar with. She remembered Tomita saying that he would be on his way to deliver the item after the meeting, and that Shinzaki said he would be preparing for Tomita's arrival.

Ban watched as her face took on a new expression, one of realization and determination. She knew exactly where Tomita was headed. Before he could say a word, she quickly turned around and bolted towards the door, jumping over the fallen Yakuza guards that blocked the way.

"Oh no, you don't!", Ban growled as he started running after her, motioning for Ginji to do the same.

As soon as they entered the stairwell, a pair of daggers flew towards them, making Ban duck and Ginji turn sideways to avoid them. Iarra was already two floors down when she summoned her daggers back. Ban amped up his speed, quickly closing in on her. He was about to grab her by the shoulders when she seemed to disappear into thin air.

Ban caught his breath in surprise. Soon after, he heard the sound of her running footsteps further down the stairs.

_What the...?_, he thought, baffled.

Ban continued running, picking up speed to catch up to her. Before he could think about what had just happened, she threw her daggers back up at them again. He leaned against the wall to avoid them as sparks of electricity flew behind him from Ginji's hands, causing the air to be magnetized and repelling the daggers as they fell down to the floor.

She summoned the daggers back to her hands. She seemed to realize that they were of no use when Ginji was around, as that was the last time she used them as she concentrated on just running. Or fleeing, as it seemed she was determined to lose them.

Which normally wouldn't be a problem for the Get Backers. Ban undeniably surpassed her in speed. Except that whenever she was within his reach, she would disappear then reappear further down the stairs. This ability was something that she had never shown them before, and it was something that Ban definitely found intriguing.

At the end of the stairs, she reached a door which she pushed back as she burst through. Ban and Ginji reached the door a few seconds later. As they pushed through the door, they found that they were at the basement parking area of the hotel. Several vehicles were lined up neatly in their parking stalls, but there was no sign of Iarra.

"Not again," Ban muttered. Maybe this disappearing act wasn't so great after all.

They walked a few steps forward, turning their heads around trying to look for Iarra, their footsteps echoing back from the cement walls of the parking area. Ban crossed one row of parked vehicles and knelt down, checking under the cars to see if she was hiding behind them.

"Iarra-chan?", Ginji called out.

As if in response, the sound of a motorcycle engine suddenly roaring to life reverberated through the parking area. Before long, a black motorcycle whizzed across towards the parking exit, its rider's ponytail flailing with the motion.

The Get Backers ran after it as fast as they could. Thankfully, they weren't that far off from the street level. As the motorcycle emerged from the parking area to the street, it made a rapid turn to the left, its motor rumbling with the strain.

"Ginji! Don't lose sight of her!", Ban yelled as he ran to the right where the Ladybug was parked. Illegally. Which was actually fortunate at this time since he didn't need to go far. It was also fortunate for them that it wasn't towed, although there was a piece of paper wedged in between the wiper and the windshield.

_Damn parking ticket_, Ban groaned inwardly. He would deal with that later. He hurriedly got in, turned the ignition, and floored it. With tires squealing, the Ladybug hurtled to where Ginji was standing.

He slowed down a bit to call out to his partner. "Come on, Ginji!" And with that, he started to speed off in pursuit of the motorcycle whose tail light they have already lost sight of.

"Ban-chan! Waait! I'm not in the car yet!", Ginji cried out as he chased after the accelerating car, his hands gripping the rear part of the roof. He flung himself against the car, hanging on for dear life as his partner revved up the engine.

"Ginji," Ban said as he rolled the Ladybug's top open. "Where'd she go?"

Sticking his head down through the open top, Ginji answered while pointing to a small side street, "She turned right over there."

"Ok. Hold tight."

With that, Ban steered to the right and yanked the handbrake, making the car's rear skid around. Ginji held his grip tighter as the little white car quickly turned 90 degrees to the direction of the side street, the screech of the tires against the pavement shooting through the night.

In the distance, a single tail light sped farther away. Ban stepped hard on the gas pedal, causing the car to shoot down the narrow street in pursuit. Ginji took this chance to squeeze in through the opening of the car roof and plop himself onto the passenger seat.

The side street opened up into a main road. Up ahead, Ban could see that the motorcycle was turning left.

"The highway?", Ban said, smirking at what he perceived as Iarra's mistake. "Alright, then. The chase ends here, Dagger Babe! This car may look small, but don't underestimate this little beauty! Under the hood she's got a v-max twelve hundred cc twin cam engine with a hundered and forty-five horsepower! Soup it up with some nitro and it'll crank out the horsepower of a hundred ninety-five! Your little bike is no match!"

Ginji smiled at Ban's testosterone-filled car spiel. He always got like this when he was about to push his precious Ladybug to its limits.

"And let's not talk about who's behind the wheel!," Ban continued. "Nobody can escape the magnificent driving skills of the Invincible Mido Ban-sama!"

The motorcycle weaved in and out of the few vehicles that were on the highway. Ban followed it with ease. Pretty soon, they got to the outskirts of the city where the only remaining vehicles on the road were the motorcycle and the Ladybug.

"Perfect time to punch the nitro!", Ban said, grinning at the imminent victory. "Ginji, grab her when we catch up to her!"

"Got it, Ban-chan!"

Without warning, the motorcycle suddenly veered to the far right lane before hitting the brakes.

"Shit!", Ban cursed as the unexpected move made the car speed right past the motorcycle. He slammed on the brakes. The smell of burning rubber wafted up the air as the car's tires skidded across the hard cement.

Before the car even came to a complete halt, Iarra pivoted the motorcycle on one leg, turning it 180 degrees. Now headed in the opposite direction, she revved up the engine and took off.

His eyes on the rearview mirror, Ban glared at the motorcycle's retreating tail light.

"So that's how you wanna play, huh?", he said. "Alright, sweetheart. The game's on!"

More squealing of tires could be heard as he turned the car around and accelerated towards their quarry's departing form.

"Ban-chan, look out!", Ginji cried as a car's head lights approached.

Ban swerved to the other lane to avoid the oncoming car that honked repeatedly at him in protest. His eyes set on the single red light in the distance, he concentrated on criss-crossing in and out of more oncoming furiously honking vehicles. Nope, going the opposite way on the highway was not what most people would consider the safest thing to do.

Soon after, the single red light changed its course, exiting the highway. Ban followed suit and soon found themselves on a lone stretch of road, with wooded areas flanking both sides.

"We've got you now," Ban muttered as he stepped hard on the gas, intent on focusing on the motorcycle's tail light.

Except that the red light suddenly disappeared.

"She turned her lights off," Ban said, frowning. "Ginji, where are our night-vision goggles?"

"Right here, Ban-chan", Ginji responded, producing the device from underneath his car seat.

"Where is she?"

Adjusting the focus on goggles, Ginji replied, "She just turned right at that fork in the road."

Ban turned right, then continued to follow more directions that Ginji gave, until they got to another long stretch of road.

"She's right in front," Ginji said as he continued looking through the goggles.

"You can't hide, Dagger Babe," Ban said, snickering.

"Ban-chan, she's looking at us."

"Let her look and see her imminent defeat!"

"Ban-chan, I think she's throwing something at us."

"Throwing what?"

Suddenly, a dagger flew straight towards Ban's face. He ducked involuntarily, which was unnecessary since it just hit the windshield.

"That," Ginji answered.

Ban glared at his partner's late reply. The dagger flew forward, presumably back into Iarra's hand. Even though the dagger didn't hit him, it turned out that it was what Iarra had intended, as the windshield now had a large spiderweb-looking crack that blocked his vision of the road.

"Damn you, Dagger Freak", Ban muttered as he made a quick decision that he normally wouldn't make regarding his precious car.

Glaring at the cracked windshield, he clenched his fist and hit it with all of his might, wincing as his precious car's windshield shattered into pieces and the remaining sheet of glass was freed from the confines of its borders. With nothing to hold on to, the parking ticket fluttered wildly then plastered itself onto Ban's face in a seemingly last attempt at getting his attention.

"Aaargh!", Ban growled in frustration as he swatted it from his face, involuntarily swerving off the road.

Ginji, who had been busy with clearing the rest of the broken windshield, stared out in horror. "Ban-chan! The tree!"

With the offending parking ticket flying out the window, Ban twisted the steering wheel hard, just narrowly avoiding being smacked onto the approaching tree. With hands still gripping the wheel, he manuevered the car back onto the road, its engine rumbling hard with the strain.

"That's it, Dagger Freak! You're going down!", Ban yelled.

He patted the steering wheel tenderly as if to reassure his 'injured' Ladybug and muttered, "Now let's show her what you've got."

He turned to his partner. "Ginji."

"Yes, Ban-chan."

"Time to use the nitro."

Ginji nodded in acknowledgment and proceeded to go through the opening where the windshield had been.

"Go get her!", Ban growled.

He pushed the nitro button. In response, the car's engine roared with its new surge of strength. The front of the car rose up with the sudden acceleration, rear wheels squealing as they turned frantically. After its initial acceleration, the car settled down, gunning straight for the motorcycle at full speed.

Speedily closing in, they could now clearly see Iarra's form ahead. Hearing the sound of the roaring engine behind her, she looked back. A troubled expression crossed her face as she realized that they were rapidly catching up to her. She pulled a dagger from the holster at her hip, then threw it at Ginji, who was crouching on the hood of the car.

Sparks of electricity surrounded Ginji as his magnetism deflected the dagger, causing it to change direction towards the side of the road. Seemingly unfazed, she threw another dagger, this time aiming low. Ban cursed as he swerved, the dagger just barely missing the Ladybug's right front tire. Ginji momentarily stopped his electrical show as he held on to the car's hood.

With her left hand on the motorcycle handlebar, she summoned her daggers back with her right. She caught them in between her fingers. By this time, Ginji was back to crouching on the hood, his hands sizzling with electricity as the car closed in on her.

She twisted the throttle hard, but it was already at maximum. Realizing that she was quickly losing ground, she put the daggers back into their holsters and concentrated on evading. She swerved left and right in an effort to at least make it hard for them to predict her movements, but the Ladybug stayed right at her tail, easily mimicking her maneuvers.

Her tactics proved to just prolong the inevitable. She gasped as sparks of electricity flew from Ginji's hands and enveloped her, the shock from the voltage making her lose control of the motorcycle.

Ginji jumped from the hood of the Ladybug and grabbed Iarra just as the motorcycle started to veer off the road. While in midair, he made sure to catch her as he twisted his body around, cushioning Iarra's fall as he landed on his back. The motorcycle spun out of control and slammed into a nearby tree.

The Ladybug's tires squealed again, the bright red of its brake lights gleaming across the road. The little car then sped back in reverse to where Ginji and Iarra had landed.

Ginji rolled to the side, laying Iarra down gently next to him. She wasn't moving.

"Iarra-chan?", Ginji called softly.

She didn't respond, her eyes still closed. Ginji shook her gently, but still no response.

Ban got out of the car and spotted the mangled up pieces of metal that had once been Iarra's motorcycle.

_She wouldn't be too happy about that_, he thought. Next to the crumpled bike, the Ladybug's windshield actually didn't seem so bad.

He turned towards the side of the road and saw Ginji seated on the grass, a worried expression on his face. Iarra was lying down motionless next to him.

"Ginji," he said, shaking his head as he moved closer to them. "You weren't supposed to knock her out."

"I'm sorry Ban-chan. I didn't think I hit her that hard."

Ban knelt down next to Iarra and held her wrist up to check her pulse.

"She's bleeding," he said in surprise as he noticed trickles of blood seemingly coming out of the small tatoos on her wrist. He looked closer and corrected himself. "_Was_ bleeding", he said, as he realized that the blood was already dry. He felt the faint rhythm of a pulse. "At least she's still alive."

"What do we do now, Ban-chan?"

"Wait for her to come around?," Ban replied, sighing. "We don't have much of a choice. We really don't know where Tomita went, but she does."

"I don't think she would want to help us after this."

"She may not WANT to," he replied, standing up. "But she will, alright."

"You're gonna force her?", Ginji asked incredulously as his partner walked over to the car, opened the trunk, and took something out.

"You think asking her nicely will work after we just chased her halfway across Tokyo and knocked her out while crashing her bike in the process?" Ban returned with a coil of rope leftover from their last job. "Good think we still have some of these."

"Ban-chan," Ginji said, shaking his head in disapproval.

"Do you have a better option?", Ban retorted.

"Well, maybe she's more reasonable than you think."

"Look, you haven't been around her as long as I have. She's crazy, unpredictable, and a BIG pain in the neck." As if to make a point, he directed his finger to the cut that he got on said body part during their earlier fight.

Ban proceeded to wrap the rope around her ankles. "I'm sure you won't mind if I borrow this," he said as he pulled out one of the daggers from the holster that was hidden behind Iarra's white room service attendant apron.

He had held her daggers before, but never really had the chance to look at them closely. The one in his hand seemed almost delicate-looking with its slim handle, presumably customized for its owner's small hands. The hilt was covered in black leather that was wrapped around it in a helical pattern that ended at the spherical silver pommel.

The dagger cut the rope cleanly with one swipe. He remarked, "Impressive, Dagger Babe. You sharpen these things well." He then moved over to bind her wrists together. He had just finished when he heard a low moan coming from Iarra's lips.

"Get your hands off of me, Mido," she grumbled.

"Oooh, Sleeping Beauty's awake, I see," Ban answered with a smirk.

She groaned. "I can't move my legs. Or my arms. Or my whole body, for that matter." She gave Ban a dirty look. "What did you do to me?"

Ban snickered. "As much as I would like to take credit for it, this one's from Ginji. It's just a little shock, that's all."

"I'm sorry Iarra-chan. I didn't mean to hit you too hard," Ginji said.

Iarra turned her head to the other side and looked up at the blond Get Backer who had an apologetic look in his big brown eyes. She moaned again as she felt her head spin with each movement. She closed her eyes in frustration, then said, "What do you two twerps want from me?"

Getting right to the point, Ban said, "You know where Tomita was headed."

Iarra just sighed in response.

Ban continued, "I had a feeling you'd be a little reluctant to tell us, so let me just quickly fill you in on your situation." He paused for dramatic effect. "You're screwed."

She raised her eyebrows in response.

He motioned to the crumpled up wreckage around the nearby tree. "That bike's not going anywhere."

"That would be thanks to you," Iarra retorted.

"Whether we had anything to do with that or not..."

"Of course you did, you moron."

"...the fact is," Ban continued, "You're pretty much stuck here for the rest of the night, with no hope of ever finishing your mission."

"And that matters to you because...?"

"Well," Ban continued. "It's either you come with us, or you stay here and watch the stars or something." He looked up. "They do look nice out here, don't you think?"

She snickered as she realized what he was saying. "So you need me to get to your target because you have no idea where you're supposed to go."

"Not yet," Ban said. "We do have a couple of leads, though. It'll just take us a little more time, but we'll find out. I'm not saying it won't benefit us at all if you come, but we'll be alright even if you don't. But you, on the other hand, will be stuck out here star-gazing for the rest of the night in the middle of nowhere wondering why the hell didn't you just take that ride that we were so kind enough to offer."

"'Kind' isn't a word that applies to you, Mido."

Ban chuckled again. "Well, the way I see it, you don't have much of a choice."

"So what are you kidnapping me, now?"

"Kidnapping?" Ban chuckled. "Of course not. We're just here to give you a ride."

"Iarra-chan," Ginji chimed in. "I really would hate for us to leave you out here. I think it would be a good idea if you come with us."

Iarra stayed silent as she looked at Ginji, then at Ban, pondering her options. And not liking them. Not liking them at all.

"So what would it be, Dagger Freak?", Ban asked.

In response, Iarra's face hardened into a glare.

"Well, you may have all night, but we don't," Ban said, standing up. "So hope you enjoy the rest of the evening. See ya!" Turning to his partner, he said, "C'mon, Ginji!".

Ginji gave Iarra one last imploring look, then reluctantly stood up and followed Ban.

Iarra watched the two retrievers as they turned their backs to her and made their way towards the car. Ban heard her mutter a string of curses under her breath before yelling, "Wait, dammit!"

Ban smiled as he and Ginji stopped. They turned to her.

With a lopsided smile, Ban asked, "Yes?"

She sighed again, then muttered, "Fine, I'll take you there."

"I'm sorry, I didn't hear that. What was that?"

With gritted teeth, she met his eyes and said, "I'll take you there."

Ban's smile turned into a wide grin. "I knew you'd be reasonable."

"That's not what you said earlier," Ginji said. "You said that she was..."

"A pleasure to be around," Ban interrupted as he walked towards her. "I have nothing but good things to say about our lovely friend, here." When he got to Iarra's side, he knelt down, reaching for the dagger that he had left on the ground. He then reached for the other dagger that was holstered to her other hip. Still giving her a grin, he said, "I'll be taking these for safekeeping."

Iarra raised an eyebrow. "You mean, for keeping yourself safe?"

"Well, with your back-stabbing histroy, I'm sure you can understand why I wouldn't be comfortable with you sitting at the back with some sharp objects within reach."

Rolling her eyes, she said, "I'm not gonna back-stab you, Mido."

"Well, since you're not planning on using them, then this shouldn't be a problem." He felt around her boot tops and found two more inside each boot. "Fully loaded, I see. Now where are the black ones?"

Iarra just gave him a piercing glare.

"C'mon Dagger Freak. I know you have them."

Still glaring, she answered with gritted teeth, "At my back."

Not quite sure what she meant, he gave her a puzzled look.

Directly meeting his gaze, she said, "They're underneath my blouse."

His eyes then moved down towards her blouse.

"Are you gonna take off my blouse, Ban-kun?," Iarra cooed sarcastically.

Flashing her his most charming lopsided smile, he said, "Can't say I'm not tempted."

"Ban-chan, it's ok," Ginji said, interrupting. "I don't think she'll be attacking us. She can't even move."

Ban turned to Ginji. "I'm not sure how long that'll last though."

Iarra rolled her eyes again. "Do I scare you that much, Mido?"

"Scare? Tch!", Ban retorted. "You forget who you're talking to. Nobody scares the Invincible Mido Ban-sama! I just want to make sure you don't do more damage than you've already done."

"Damage?", Iarra said incredulously. "DAMAGE?", she repeated, louder this time. "YOU followed ME! TOO many times tonight! Things were fine until YOU appeared and messed everything up. If anyone's doing damage, it's YOU!"

"Oh yeah? I'LL show you some DAMAGE!"

"Hey, hey, hey," Ginji interrupted, putting his hands up to calm the two down. "Please stop fighting. We still have a job to do."

Iarra and Ban shot glares at each other.

Before long, Ban sighed. "We should start moving."

Iarra sighed as well to calm herself down. She then looked up at Ban and said, "Mido."

Ban raised his eyebrows questioningly.

"What's the deal when we get there?"

"We'll figure it out," Ban replied.

Not satisfied, Iarra shot him another glare.

Ban sighed, then replied, "We'll talk about it on the way, ok?" Muttering under his breath, he said, "Freak."

"Jerk," she shot back.

Ban turned to his partner. "It's gonna be a fun ride," he said wryly.

* * *

A/N: Goooo, Ladybug! I think it's about time the little car gets some action :)

This chapter's title is a musical term that means "hurrying, or pressing onwards". I thought that it's befitting for a car chase.

So did you listen to it with "J" in the background? No? Why not? Go read it again! Make sure you listen to the song while you're doing it! Ok, I was just kidding. You don't have to. I'm not that neurotic. Or maybe I am. I can give you the song if you want? Ok, I'm just gonna shut up now. :D


	7. Recitativo

Disclaimer: You don't really think I own GB, do you? Well, you're right.

A/N: If you haven't read the Silver Claw, now would be a good time. This chapter contains a few spoilers. Not that I'm pulling another shameless plug...

* * *

**VII. Recitativo**

The white Subaru 360 cruised down the narrow lane, its headlights the only source of light on a lone stretch of road far away from the city. The car's engine hummed, and Mido Ban shifted up as the clutch reached its friction point. He glanced at his partner Amano Ginji, who sat quietly beside him in the passenger seat with his eyes closed and a slight smile on his lips, seemingly enjoying the breeze coming at him from where the car's windshield should have been.

Ban smiled inwardly. Something he had learned from Ginji was how not to take little things for granted. Little things that help make one feel alive. Such as having the breeze on your face. Even if this particular breeze was caused by the absence of a particular car part that he would rather not do without, as the little car was now subjected to more drag, making it use more fuel than normal. At a time when fuel prices were at an all-time high. And at a time when the Get Backers weren't exactly raking in their profits. Which was almost all of the time, come to think of it.

Ban frowned at being reminded of the state of the Get Backers' coffers, but after glancing again and seeing the peaceful look on his partner's face, he brushed his naturally pessimistic thoughts away. Yeah, it was still good to feel alive.

Behind the blond retrieving agent, a not-so-happy-looking Iarra stared out the window. She had already told them the directions on how to get to their destination. All she had to do now was wait. Her eyes flicked over to her lap, landing on the ropes that had her wrists bound. She scowled. She had asked her captors why they didn't untie her, and that damn Mido just replied with, "You can't move your whole body. We don't want your arms and legs flailing uncontrollably around now, do we?"

She rolled her eyes as she looked back out the window.

"Iarra."

She caught her breath, a little startled at the sound that suddenly broke through the humdrum of the car's engine. She turned her head to see Ban looking at her through the rearview mirror. She chuckled and said, "So you do know my name. And I was just getting used to Dagger Freak." She turned her head back to face the window. "Dagger Babe has a nicer ring to it, though."

Ban did not find it amusing.

Iarra had expected him to reply with some kind of wisecrack, but nothing came. Curious, she turned her head back and saw Ban's piercing eyes still fixed on her through the rearview mirror. She sighed. "What, Mido?"

"Back at the stairwell...," Ban began. "What exactly were you doing?"

"I was runnning away from you," Iarra replied. "What the hell did it look like?"

Ban paused, then said, "You weren't just running away."

Iarra said nothing. Instead, she turned her head to avoid his eyes, looking out the window again.

Ban continued, "Are you some kind of teleporter?"

She smiled, amused at the term, then said, "'Some kind of' sounds about right."

This time, Ban turned his head back to glance at his backseat passenger. "What does that mean?"

"It's not exactly teleporting," she replied softly, turning her eyes to meet his briefly, before returning her gaze back out the window. "But it does appear that way, doesn't it?"

Ban frowned as he focused on the road, starting to get irritated with the lack of clear answers. "So what is it then?"

Iarra didn't answer, but just continued to stare out the window.

Not giving up, Ban pressed on, "And does your bleeding have anything to do with it?"

This time, Iarra turned her head to Ban, clearly annoyed at the interrogation. "What are we friends now that I should tell you all my secrets?"

Ban gasped in mock shock. "We're not?"

"Gee, I don't know. It is my understanding that friends don't tie each other up after paralyzing them FROM THE NECK DOWN!"

Ginji, who had been quiet all this time, suddenly broke his silence as he looked back at her, and said, "It's only temporary, Iarra-chan."

"How comforting," Iarra said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "That makes me feel so much better."

"Oh, c'mon," Ban said as he turned his head back to her again, his eyes gloating at the little fact that he was going to rub in. "Don't you remember the time when we saved your life because you were in deep shit?"

She snickered, unaffected by Ban's gloating. "You're probably regretting that right now."

"A while ago when there were daggers flying at us? Yes. We don't exactly share your fondness for sharp pointy things. But right now? Nah."

"Okay, my turn to ask questions," Iarra said, determined to change the course of the conversation.

Ban raised his eyebrows.

"What leads did you say you have?", she continued.

"Hmm?", Ban asked absentmindedly as he followed the road, which just turned into a corner.

"You said you had a couple of leads. What are they? Let's see if you're right."

"Oh. Pffft," he replied, shrugging nonchalantly. "I was just bluffing. We got nothing."

Iarra glared at him through the rearview mirror.

"Look," Ban said. "I don't like this any more than you do, but we have no choice. We have to get the ring back. It's our client's heirloom. I have no idea why you're even after it, anyway."

"Heirloom?," Iarra asked as her glare turned into a look of confusion. "What heirloom?"

Ban and Ginji looked at each other.

Ginji turned his head around to look at her and answered her question. "The bloodstone ring that Tomita stole."

"That's your target?", Iarra asked.

"Yes," Ginji answered.

As if to clarify, Iarra repeated, "The bloodstone ring is your target."

"Yes! The bloodstone ring is our target!," Ban said, irritated. "Is that clear enough for you? Or do you want me to say that one more time?"

She smiled, which irritated Ban all the more. "What?", he barked.

In response, Iarra said, "Well, then. We don't have to fight."

"What do you mean?"

She replied, "The bloodstone ring is NOT my target."

Ban frowned. "What's your target, then?"

"Something else."

Ban turned his head to look at her again, trying to gauge what to make of what she had just said. He turned his eyes back to the road and said, "Sorry. Not convinced."

"You said it yourself. Why the hell would I be going after your client's heirloom?"

"You tell me."

Iarra rolled her eyes as she gave an exasperated sigh. "Yes, I'm after Tomita, but not for the bloodstone ring."

Ban looked at her again through the rearview mirror as if to say 'Go on'.

Iarra continued, "Tomita's on his way right now to make a huge deal, the BIGGEST deal that any Yakuza clan has ever known. If he is successful, his clan the Kagerou-kai would be making big money in ways that will be far easier than ever before. And that will be because this deal would make it possible for illegal weapons, drugs, and what-have-you's smuggled freely into and out of Japan."

"And you wouldn't want that because...?"

Iarra gave him a confused look, not quite understanding his question.

Ban chuckled, then said, "I just thought it sounded pretty orgasmic to a smuggler, that's all."

She stared at him for a while, then a look of understanding crossed her features. "Oh," she said, "I no longer work for Dark Fleet."

At that, Ban and Ginji both turned to look at her. She looked back at them unflinchingly. Ban looked at Ginji, who blinked back at him, before turning his focus back on the road.

"Since when?", Ban asked.

A faraway look came into Iarra's eyes as she replied, "Since some time ago."

"So you're no longer at Havoc's beck and call?"

At the mention of the name of the head of Dark Fleet, she turned to the rearview mirror to look into Ban's eyes. She replied, "Havoc's dead."

There was silence again as the retrieval duo processed this new piece of information. After the Get Backers' first encounter with Dark Fleet, Ban tried to find out all that he could about the international smuggling organization. And the Silver Claw, in particular. It was not easy, since information about Dark Fleet, and especially its topmost agent, was scarce. All he could find out was that the Fleet had been considerably weakened as a result of its frequent violent conflicts with another smuggling organization, the Burning Dragons.

The death of Havoc and the breaking away of the Silver Claw should be big news in the underworld, yet Ban had heard nothing about it. If this were true, then Dark Fleet did a great job in keeping it a secret.

He looked again at the rearview mirror. As the master of the Jagan, Ban had this gift of peering deep into the recesses of a person's soul by looking into their eyes. Even though Iarra's face was devoid of emotion, what he saw in the eyes that looked back at him conveyed a hint of pain that their owner tried to suppress.

Ginji, who did not have the gift of the Jagan, had a certain gift of his own. Some said that it was his sensitivity to electricity that enabled him to sense changes in the electrical charges that a person created. Whatever it was, Ginji sensed the change in Iarra as memories, apparently unpleasant, flashed in her mind.

"Are you alright, Iarra-chan?", Ginji asked, concern evident in his big brown eyes.

"I'm fine," she snapped at him, her eyes hardening, but the look in Ginji's eyes told her that he wasn't buying it.

"Who's running Dark Fleet now?," Ban asked.

Iarra replied, "A bunch of goons."

Ban snickered. "It doesn't sound like a lot has changed."

Iarra turned back to the rearview mirror and gave Ban a scowl. Inwardly though, she felt relief. She did not feel like talking about Havoc at this time, and Ban knew it. She flashed him a brief look of gratitude, then turned it immediately back into a glare, which Ban acknowledged with a chuckle.

_At least Dark Fleet's out of the picture_, Ban thought. He then asked her, "So who are you working for now?"

"None of your business. Look, I don't ask you who your client is, so don't ask me mine."

"Fair enough," Ban said. "But what did you say your target was?"

"Not the ring."

"What is it, then?"

Iarra didn't reply but just looked away.

Suspicious, Ban asked, "Why aren't you telling us what it is?"

"It's not for you to know."

"That could be true," Ginji said. "But how can we help you if you don't tell us?"

Ban shot his partner a scowl as soon as he heard the word 'help'. Ginji looked innocently back at him with an expression saying 'What?'.

Iarra looked back at the retrievers with an amused smile. "Ginji."

"Yes?"

"Are you saying that we should...", Iarra paused, then with evident difficulty, said the next words. "... work together?"

Ginji said, "Now that we know we have different targets, why not?"

"We don't actually know that, Ginji," Ban said, still glowering at his partner. "She's not telling us everything."

"But she HAS told us that she's not after the ring."

"And you believe her? For all you know, she could be leading us into a trap."

"What makes you think that?"

"She can be very sneaky."

Iarra rolled her eyes. "SHE is right here and can hear every word you say."

"Dagger Freak," Ban said as he turned his head to her. "It would be easier for us to trust you if you just tell us what your damn target is!"

"Alright! Alright! Sheesh", Iarra said. She paused, seemingly being careful on what she said next. "It's very important for me that the deal doesn't go through."

"So...," Ban said, getting impatient at Iarra's indirect answers. "That's your target?"

Iarra nods. "Yes, that's my goal."

Ban frowned, a little confused on her choice of words, but decided to put that in the back burner for now.

"We need to go off the road from here," Iarra said. "You can go up that little hill and park at the top. And you should turn your head lights off so that we can avoid being seen."

Iarra's instructions sounded simple enough, except that with no road, going up the hill meant that he would have to manuever the little car around trees, over roots and shrubs, and under low-hanging branches in order to get to the top. Iarra still hadn't fully recovered from the shock that she received from Ginji, which meant that with every movement of the car, her body moved with it, resulting in her head banging against the window every now and then, making her curse under her breath whenever that happened. Ban found it mildly entertaining.

They arrived at the highest point in the hill. Still being well hidden by the trees, Ban stopped the car and turned the engine off. In between the tree trunks, the Get Backers could see that they were now overlooking a remote bay area. Down below, they could see a lone large white superyacht that was almost as big as a cruise ship berthed on one of the piers extending out from the shore. At the ship's aft, the three Ladybug occupants could see the outline of a helicopter that looked like the same one they had seen Tomita in. The pier was connected to what seemed like an abandoned wharf, with the dark sillhouettes of port cranes surrounding rusty container boxes and mostly empty piers.

"What is this place?", Ginji asked.

"This," Iarra answered. "... is Dark Fleet territory."

Ban and Ginji both looked at her in surprise.

"This deal you were talking about," Ban said. "... is with Dark Fleet?"

With a soft voice, she replied, "Yes."

"Damn," Ban said. He looked back at Ginji as he processed his thoughts.

_So much for Dark Fleet being out of the picture_, Ban thought begrudgingly. The last time he had been in their territory, he was left with the impression that Dark Fleet consisted of a bunch of sadist freaks. Needless to say, going back into their territory was not something he looked forward to. He looked suspiciously back at the person that brought them there.

"So you're gonna go against Dark Fleet...," Ban said, looking straight into Iarra's eyes. "...and fight your former friends?"

"Look," Iarra said, irritated. "I would've preferred it if this got settled back at the hotel. But since that didn't happen, I don't have much of an option now, do I?"

Still not totally convinced, Ban turned back to look back at the huge ship below. "So what exactly is that thing?"

"That thing," Iarra said as she followed Ban's gaze. "...is the _Pristine_. It's a smuggling ship that hides under the guise of a luxury yacht. It's got heavy armour plating, protection B7 (1) bulletproof glass windows, and military-grade missile detection systems (2). It's pretty much a floating Dark Fleet fortress."

"The _Pristine_," Ban repeated with a snort. "What a very appropriate name."

Iarra smiled. "Well, they wanted a name that sounds harmless and won't raise red flags for customs officials."

"They should've named it the _Fluffy Bunny_, then."

Iarra chuckled, then said, "Too cute. That would make customs officials run the other way before gagging and throwing up."

"Exactly," Ban said, chuckling as well.

Iarra then turned serious. "The bottom deck is where the machinery and engine room is. The upper deck is where guests are entertained, so that's where Tomita should be."

"What's in the middle decks?," Ban asked.

"Smuggling compartments, Dark Fleet agents' quarters," Iarra replied. "Stuff like that."

"Ne, Iarra-chan," Ginji said. "Do you think the ship will be leaving anytime soon?"

Iarra thought for a while, then said, "It's very likely that it will be leaving. I'm just not sure how soon."

"We better get going, then," Ban said, opening the car door. He looked back at the ex-smuggler that was currently at the back seat of his car.

_Ex-smuggler. That is_, he thought as he narrowed his eyes. ..._if she's telling the truth_. He still had his reservations about Iarra. And he couldn't shake the nagging feeling that she was holding something back from them. Something important.

Iarra found it a little unsettling to look directly into the Jagan Master's eyes, especially when those piercing eyes were filled with suspicion and doubt. She fought the urge to look away. She was well aware that if the Jagan Master had willed it so, she would not be able to remove what was real from what was imaginary. But she also knew that it would be foolish for him to use his last Jagan on her at this time. And so she met his gaze steadily.

"You've been a great help, Dagger Babe," Ban finally said. "But we'll take it from here." With that, he stepped out of the car.

"But what about Iarra-chan?", Ginji asked as he also stepped out of the car.

"Yeah, Mido," Iarra said incredulously. "You're not leaving me here, are you?"

"That's a wonderful idea!", Ban said sarcastically. "I can't believe I haven't thought of that. Thanks, Dagger Babe! You're awesome!" He closed the car door and turned to his partner. "Let's go Ginji!," he said as he turned to walk away from the car.

"What?", Iarra said in disbelief. She then yelled, "Mido, you bastard! You're gonna need me once you're inside that ship! Don't be stupid!"

Ban stopped.

"You can't just leave me here!," Iarra continued.

Ban turned back towards the car. He leaned down and peered at Iarra through the driver's side window, the beginnings of an evil grin starting to form on his face. He said, "You're right. We can't just leave you there."

Iarra stopped as she saw the look in Ban's eyes. "What the hell are you thinking, Mido?," she said, her eyes narrowing in suspicion.

Ban just smiled as he opened the car door. He slid the driver's seat forward, then reached towards Iarra.

* * *

"You," Iarra growled as she gave Ban her sharpest glare. "... are an asshole."

Ban smiled as he looked down at her, his hand ready to close the Subaru 360's trunk. Good thing the former Dark Fleet agent was small enough to fit in there. And good thing she still hadn't regained control of her body, which made it easy for him to stuff her in the trunk with little resistance.

"Ginji," Iarra said, turning to the Get Backer that was looking at her with a torn expression on his face, her eyes pleading. "How can you just stand there and let your partner do this after all the help I've given you? This is crazy. You said it yourself. We can work together."

"Don't listen to her, Ginji," Ban interrupted. "She's just messing with your head." He turned back to Iarra, this time with a serious look in his eyes. "Look, I'm not doing this just because I like making your life difficult. I know you're hiding something, Dagger Freak."

She continued glaring back at him but said nothing.

"Besides," Ban continued. "You still can't move. You can't do us any good right now." He smiled at her again. "Don't worry. We'll be back before you know it." And with that, he closed the trunk.

"Mido, you son of a bitch!," Ban heard her muffled yell from inside the trunk. "You're gonna regret this!"

His gaze flicked over from the trunk to the remaining shards of the broken windshield (3). Setting his jaw in determination, he said, "C'mon, Ginji", then turned to run down the hill towards the ship.

Ginji looked back at the trunk, then at his partner's retreating form. He turned to run down after him.

"Ban-chan," he said as he caught up to the dark-haired retriever.

"What?"

"Did we really need to do that?", Ginji asked, his face lined with concern.

"She's hiding something, Ginji. We can't trust her. Besides, even if she were telling the truth, do you think we can just waltz our way in there with a defector that's probably in their most wanted list? I don't want to get involved in whatever internal problems Dark Fleet has right now. I just want that damn ring."

"But locking her in the trunk?," Ginji said, shaking his head.

"She'll be fine," Ban snapped at him.

Ginji continued to give him a disapproving look.

Ban sighed, then said, "We'll get her out when we're done, okay? Let's just go and get this over with. Who knows? We might even disrupt that deal for her."

* * *

A/N: If you think I made Ban really mean, I know. I'm sure he had done worse things than this, so this shouldn't be too OOC for him, I think.

Recitativo, this chapter's title, is a style of music that's in between speaking and singing. Since this chapter's just a lot of talking, I thought it was appropriate. Oh, and this is where I got stuck on some plotholes. I'm still currently trying to fill them out, so it might be a while before I update. Hope you stick around! Constructive feedback would be nice...

(1) B7 is the highest level of ballistic protection for armoured vehicles. If you have loads of moolah and you think people might try to shoot at you, B7 is the way to go hehehe :)

(2) The _Pristine_, the ship in this fic, is modeled after the _Eclipse_, a real-life luxury yacht owned by Russian billionaire Roman Abromovich. The _Eclipse_ is currently the world's largest private yacht. Check out pics of this baby. It's huge. Oh, and the _Eclipse_ is not used for smuggling. Please don't sue me, Mr. Abromovich.

(3) Question: How the heck can Ban look at the broken windshield after closing the trunk? Answer: The trunk of the Subaru 360 is at the front. That's how! :) Cool, huh? I found that out when I started looking at pics of the little car for reference, since I wondered if anybody can even fit in the back, which I wrongfully thought was the trunk. Apparently, that's where the engine is.


	8. Attacca

Disclaimer: How do I say that I don't own the Get Backers? Let me count the ways... Or not.

A/N: This chapter's music is brought to you by the number 7. Beethoven's String Quartet No. 7, that is (which I don't own as well).

* * *

**VIII. Attacca**

The string quartet drew their bows across the strings of their respective instruments for the last note of the Second Movement of Beethoven's String Quartet No. 7. The violinist wiped his brow as he turned the page for the next sheet of music that his group would be playing.

They were in the middle of the small dining room of the luxury superyacht named the _Pristine_. The dining room was small as it was meant to hold more intimate events, but it was a sight to behold. At their right was a granite countertop bar with mahogany wood panels, complete with matching leather-padded mahogany bar stools. At their left was a small lounge area with chocolate brown leather modular couches, its matching coffee table holding a vase of fresh gold orange tiger lilies. At one end of the lounge area was a glass door that led to a balcony that would have given a great view of the water, but at this time of night, the only view that one could see was darkness.

Right in front of the string quartet was the dining table, its two diners just finishing the main course that was meticulously prepared by the yacht's in-house chef.

Tomita Shunji wiped his mouth with the crisp linen table napkin. "Aaah, there's nothing like authentic Kobe steak, Shinzaki-san," he said to the man whom he previously communicated with through just video calls, but was now sitting right across from him.

In response, the man called Shinzaki smiled and said, "I'm glad you enjoyed it, Tomita-san."

The kitchen door behind the bar then opened and a server appeared. While he dutifully picked up the used plates and utensils that the two men had used, a man in a tuxedo also emerged from the kitchen door and made his way past the bar toward the string quartet. He tapped the violinist's shoulder and whispered something to him. The violinist looked puzzled, but nodded in understanding. He stood up, placed his violin and bow neatly on his chair, then made his way through the kitchen door. The server soon followed holding the neatly stacked used plates and utensils.

The man in the tuxedo picked up the the bow and violin and sat down on the violinist's chair. The other members of the string quartet looked at each other, then at the newcomer, who nodded back at them as he adjusted his purple glasses.

* * *

A loud thud broke through the stillness of the night. Hidden by the trees, the white Subaru 360 shuddered as it sat at the top of the hill. Its trunk shook as another thud, louder this time, could be heard. After a third more foreceful thud, the trunk finally conceded, snapping open as it revealed its contents.

A pair of black boots that were roped together swung from inside the trunk and planted themselves firmly on the ground. Emerging from the trunk was Iarra, who uncurled herself from the tight confines of the Ladybug's small trunk.

* * *

Mido Ban looked at the sheet music in front of him. The top of the sheet read _Adagio molto e mesto_.

_Beethoven, huh_, he thought. It wasn't the easiest of pieces but thankfully, the guy he replaced was playing Violin II, which wasn't as hard as Violin I. He looked at the sheet music again then groaned inwardly. For this piece of music, Violin II would be playing first. Great.

He ignored the confused look of the other members of the string quartet as he rested the left side of his chin on the violin's chinrest. Positioning the bow just slightly above the instrument's strings, he looked them all in the eye as if to tell them to get ready. The other musicians seemed to shrug internally as they positioned their instruments as well.

From the kitchen, another server came out holding a tray containing two ochokos (1) and a tokkuri (2) of chilled sake. This particular server had blond hair and chocolate brown eyes, which quickly flicked over to Ban's direction as he prepared to serve the sake to the two diners.

Ban glanced back at him as he drew the bow across one of the violin's strings, playing the first note. The other musicians followed, their fingers faithfully reflecting Beethoven's masterpiece.

Amano Ginji placed the tokkuri on the table in between the two men. He was about to head back into the kitchen when the Dark Fleet boss motioned to him and said, "Excuse me." Ginji stopped and turned back to him. Shinzaki continued, "Our guest here traditionally drinks warm sake. Would you please bring out the warm sake this time?"

Ginji bowed his head in acknowledgment, then replied with "Hai."

Ban watched his partner bring the tokkuri back into the kitchen, trying not to show his anxiety as he concentrated on playing. _I hope you don't blow this, Ginji_, he thought.

* * *

Regaining her bearings, Iarra stood up and looked over the hill to the bay area down below. She sighed in relief as she saw that the massive yacht was still docked at the pier. She turned her head around and regarded the forlorn-looking Ladybug which seemed to be crying out to her with its deformed open trunk and broken windshield.

_Yeah, I know. It must suck to have such an ass for an owner_, Iarra thought, almost sympathetically.

She looked down at her bound wrists, lifted them up towards the car, then closed her eyes. Soon after, a silver dagger flew from underneath the driver's seat through the non-existent windshield, and landed on her hand. She opened her eyes and proceeded to cut the ropes that had her wrists bound.

* * *

Ginji stood in the middle of the kitchen and looked around, pondering his dilemma.

_Where do they keep the warm sake?_, he thought. His eyes rested on the floor, at the unconscious forms of the chef, as well as the server and the violinist that he and Ban had "replaced." He stared at the tokkuri in his hand.

Just then, he had an idea. _He wants warm sake, he's gonna get warm sake_, he thought, smiling.

Placing both hands around the tokkuri, he closed his eyes and concentrated. Sparks of electricity danced from his fingers and encircled the container. Pretty soon, he felt the container heat up. He continued zapping away until the surface of the liquid inside the container began to roil, and steam began coming out of the tokkuri's mouth.

Ginji opened his eyes then groaned. _Warm sake, not boiling sake_, Ginji thought wryly.

He looked around the kitchen once more, his mind going _What to do? What to do?_ His eyes then spotted a bucket of ice that sat on top of one of the counters. He quickly made his way to it then dipped the tokkuri of freshly boiled sake in the ice. _I hope this will cool it down._

* * *

It had been more than halfway through the Third Movement of Beethoven's String Quartet No. 7, and Ginji still had not returned from the kitchen. Ban tried not to worry about his partner as his fingers danced through all the thirty-second notes that he had to play. Ginji would do his part, he reassured himself. For now, all he had to do was take care of his part, which was to play the violin like a pro. Sure he had missed some notes, for which the other musicians glanced at him, but the two crime bosses seemed oblivious to it.

The section on all those thirty-second notes finally came to an end, and there was a short rest for Violin II. Not bad at all for the Invincible Mido Ban-sama, Ban thought to himself, considering that the last time he played the violin was with Madoka at that alley party right after the Stradivarius mission. That seemed like an eon ago, Ban mused.

Just then, he felt the huge ship start to move, urging Ban to put his focus back on their current mission. _Damn_, he thought. _We need to get this done soon. Ginji, where the hell are you?_

* * *

Iarra had just started to cut the ropes around her boots when she noticed that the ship was starting to move. She quickly slashed the ropes around her boots, summoned the rest of her daggers, then dashed down the hill towards the pier. As she ran, she took off the white room attendant apron that she had used as a disguise back at the hotel, dropping it to the ground. She then unbuttoned her white blouse and flung it down to the ground, revealing the black beaded bodice that she had worn at the hotel ballroom.

* * *

After what seemed to Ban like forever, the kitchen door finally opened and out came Ginji holding the tokkuri. He gave Ban a reassuring glance before heading towards the two diners. He placed the tokkuri back on the table, bowed, then turned back towards the kitchen.

Once inside, he leaned against the kitchen counter. All he had to do now was wait for Ban to move. He shifted his position then crossed his arms over his chest. His eyes idly scanned the sleek modern designs that made up the luxury yacht's kitchen, from the dark brown cabinetry, the gray granite countertops, the stainless steel stove, the stainless steel refrigerator...

The stainless steel refrigerator. He glanced at the unconscious bodies on the floor, then back at the refrigerator.

Since he didn't need to do anything yet, he was sure nobody would mind if he just checked out what it contained. He made his way over to the commercial grade refrigerator and pulled open the door. As he basked in the glorious glow of the refrigerator light, his eyes just about watered as he turned chibi at the euphoric sight of shelves bursting with gourmet goodness. He could almost swear that he heard the harmonious chorus of gastronomic angels singing.

* * *

Staring at the massive yacht that was currently accelerating away from the harbor, Iarra pulled out the black dagger that was holstered at the back of her bodice. As she held it in her hand, the outline of the blade glowed red. She hurled the glowing dagger, with her eyes following its trajectory until it hit the yacht's hull. She closed her eyes and concentrated, reaching out her hand towards the direction of the dagger, using it as her point of reference as she estimated the speed of the rapidly distancing ship. She then suddenly disappeared from the pier.

She reappeared on the yacht's aft helipad just behind the helicopter. While making sure that she stayed hidden behind the helicopter, she summoned her black dagger. She disappeared again, then reappeared with her back against the outer wall that faced the helipad, right under the security camera that she knew would be monitoring the area. She looked up above and noticed that the outline of the camera against the shadows had a distorted shape. She looked closer and noticed that it had been fried to a crisp.

_Ginji must have already gotten to you_, Iarra thought, silently speaking to the defunct camera.

She looked down at her wrists, where small trickles of blood came out of the Xi-shaped tattooes. Not giving it a second thought, she quickly wiped them on her pants. If the Get Backers had also taken care of the security control room, then that would mean less problems down the road. If not, then a malfunctioning security camera would definitely alert Dark Fleet to their presence. Somehow, she had a feeling that it was the latter. She had to move quickly.

* * *

The soulful sound of the Third Movement of Beethoven's String Quartet No. 7 wafted in the small dining area as the two crime bosses took some sips from their ochokos of warm sake.

"Tomita-san," the Dark Fleet boss Shinzaki said as he rested his cup on the table. "I'm curious as to why you have decided to advance our meeting. The sudden change has made me a bit... apprehensive."

"There is nothing to worry about, Shinzaki-san," Tomita reassured him. "As you know, we are in the process of establishing a momentous relationship between the Kagerou-kai and Dark Fleet. I did not think that it was necessary to delay."

"I am aware of what we are establishing, Tomita-san. Perhaps you would understand my concerns after I've heard about your..." He paused. "...eventful flight on the way here."

Tomita was about to take another sip from his cup, but stopped as he looked at Shinzaki, who was looking pointedly back at him. He smiled. "It doesn't cease to amaze me how Dark Fleet always stays ahead." He continued his sip as he chose his next words carefully. "We did have an incident at the hotel," he began. "There were some... individuals who attempted to prevent me from getting here." He put the cup back on the table. "But I can assure you that they have been taken care of."

"I would advise you to be cautious of giving assurances."

Tomita looked at him, his brows furrowed in confusion, then said, "What do you mean, Shinzaki-san?"

"Those individuals who were after you... Do you know who they are?"

"Due to the item's highly significant value, I do know that a number of organizations want their hands on it. Those who made the attempt earlier this evening could be any one of those."

"Aahh, Tomita-san," Shinzaki said. "I don't suppose you are aware that the ones that went after you are not just 'any one of those'."

Tomita looked at him questioningly.

Shinzaki continued, "They're called the Get Backers. They're reportedly Shinjuku's best retrieval team."

_Damn right we are_, Ban thought smugly.

Tomita replied with, "I think your opinion of the Get Backers is a bit inflated."

Ban tried hard not to raise an eyebrow at what the Yakuza sokaiya had just said.

"When I was leaving the hotel, I can tell you that I had great amusement in watching their faces as they realized that they've lost," Tomita continued, then chuckled. "'Shinjuku's best retrieval team' still has a long way to go to deal with their inadequacies."

_Inadequacies?_, Ban thought, almost missing a note as he imagined himself shoving the violin down that damn Yakuza throat.

Shinzaki chuckled as well, then said, "It is our honor to be dealing with the Yakuza's most formidable clan." He raised his cup, then said, "To Kagerou-kai."

Tomita smiled, then raised his cup as well as he replied with, "To Dark Fleet."

Their cups touched and they drank again.

Just then, the glass door to the balcony opened, and a man in a black shirt and black military-style cargo pants walked in. What was curious about this man was how his wavy silvery hair contrasted against his young-looking face. Ban thought he looked like the male version of Clayman, except for his ice blue eyes which were set directly towards Shinzaki. As the Dark Fleet agent walked past the string quartet, Ban couldn't help but notice the elaborate-looking black handles of the two daggers that were holstered at each side of his hip.

He stopped next to Shinzaki then leaned to whisper something to the Dark Fleet boss. Whatever he said brought tension to Shinzaki's eyes.

"Tomita-san," he said. "It seems that the ship has picked up some rats."

"Rats," Tomita repeated.

"Yes, Tomita-san. It would appear that you have been a bit remiss in your haste to get here."

Tomita blinked at him. "Are you accusing me of something, Shinzaki-san?"

"'Accusing' is such a strong word," Shinzaki said. "I am not suggesting anything as acrimonious."

"I'm not sure I understand what you are suggesting, then."

"Tomita-san," Shinzaki said. "I don't suppose that you are aware that you've been tailed?"

"Impossible," Tomita said, his face taking on a defensive expression. "Nobody else knows about the location of this meeting, not even my bodyguards. It was on good faith that I came here with only my pilots, my assistant, and my protector."

_Protector?_, Ban thought, frowning. He didn't remember seeing Tomita with a protector back at the hotel.

"We have a lot more to discuss, Tomita-san," Shinzaki said, his eyes hardening. "And I apologize for cutting our dinner short, but for your protection and mine, it is best that we continue our meeting at a more secure location somewhere else in this ship while my people manage this problem."

Shinzaki then stood up, placing his linen napkin on the table. "Please follow me Tomita-san."

Tomita stared at him, then at the black-clad man beside Shinzaki, whose eyes seem to bore coldly into his. Deciding that it was in his best interest to do what Shinzaki said, he reached under the table, pulling out a briefcase.

_Bingo_, Ban thought.

It was the exact same briefcase that Ban saw when he used his Jagan on him. The one that contained the bloodstone ring.

The Third Movement of Beethoven's String Quartet No. 7 did not get to its last note as the other members of the string quartet noticed that the sound of Violin II had suddenly gone missing. They looked in the direction of Violin II, but were surprised to see the chair just containing a violin and its bow, but no musician.

Before the two crime bosses were able to take a step, Ban had already made his way to them, blocking their way to the door.

"Excuse me, sirs," Ban said.

Tomita and Shinzaki stopped in their tracks. The Dark Fleet agent put his hands on the handles of his daggers, ready to pull them out. Ban held out his hand to him as if to calm him down, then turned back to the two bosses.

"I can't help but overhear your conversation," Ban said to them.

"Shimo (3)," Shinzaki said to the man beside him. "Weren't the musicians briefed on the protocols of this ship?"

"This isn't the musician that we hired, Shinzaki-san," the man called Shimo replied, his icy blue eyes staring hard at Ban's bright blue ones as he pulled his two daggers out, its blades glistening in a silvery blue hue.

"There is no need for that," Ban said, motioning to the daggers. "Allow me to introduce myself." He smiled. "I am Mido Ban of the Get Backers." His smile grew wider at the shock evident in the two crime bosses' faces as he continued, "Shinjuku's best retrieval team."

Chibi Ginji took it as his cue, bouncing from the kitchen and landing in Ban's arms as he said, "And I am Amano Ginji, also of the Get Backers."

"These... are the Get Backers?", Shinzaki asked incredulously. He looked at his Yakuza counterpart. "You may be right that my opinion of them is inflated." He had just looked back at the retrievers in front of him when he turned back to Tomita as a thought crossed his mind. "How is it though that you didn't recognize him when he walked into the room?"

"I...," Tomita stammered. "... didn't get the chance to take a good look at them until now."

"Is that so?," Shinzaki said, unconvinced as he looked at the retrievers again. "No matter. Since they're in Dark Fleet's territory, we will deal with them." He raised his hand and gave a signal. In response, a team of Dark Fleet agents stormed through the glass door, surrounding Ban and Ginji.

Refusing to be intimidated, Ban adjusted his glasses, his lips turning up into a smirk. "I told you guys that there is no need for this." He looked directly at Tomita. "You have something that doesn't belong to you. If you just give it to us, we'll get off your backs and you two can continue your chitchat in peace."

"Shimo," Shinzaki said again to the man with the silvery hair. "Can you please brief these two on the protocols of this ship?"

"Gladly," Shimo replied as he held his daggers in a battle stance.

Ban sighed exasperatedly. "For the last time, there is no need for this. But if you insist..." His lips turned up into a wide grin. "... then you guys are in for a little shock." He turned to his partner, still grinning, "Right, Ginji?"

"Right, Ban-chan," Ginji said. He turned back from chibi into his normal form, then started walking towards Shimo.

Having gotten used to daggers being hurled at them, Ginji had already generated an electromagentic shield just as Shimo threw his daggers to both Get Backers. The blades sizzled as they came in contact with the shield. Soon, the blades changed direction towards a surprised Shimo, who ducked as his own daggers came flying towards him. The other Dark Fleet agents quickly took action and threw their own daggers at Ginji.

Tomita gasped as his briefcase was quickly swiped from his hands by the other Get Backer, who gave him a mock salute before he brazenly cut through the Dark Fleet agents. Appearing next to the glass door, he held it open and called out, "Ginji! Let's go!"

Ginji, who had been doing a great job of taking control of all those flying daggers, sent a final burst of electrical energy to the Dark Fleet agents. Before the agents even fell to the floor, Ginji had already made his way out the glass door.

The retrieval duo ran along the yacht's railing, encountering more Dark Fleet agents along the way. They made short work of the agents as they headed back towards the aft, running until they reached the helipad once again. They dashed past the helicopter and stopped when they reached the farthest railing and realized that the yacht was nowhere near land.

"Ban-chan," Ginji said as he stared at the churning water below the yacht. "What's our plan for leaving the ship?"

"I didn't count on the fact that the ship would move," Ban grumbled. "I'm open to ideas right now."

"Should we just jump?", Ginji asked.

"We don't know where the hell we are and how far away we are from land. We might be swimming for a long time."

Ban paused, his mind whirring with possible ideas. He fired off the first thought that came to his mind. "We can use our pants as flotation devices," he began. Speaking more rapidly, he continued, "I've seen it done. Once you're in the water, you take your pants off then just tie each pant leg into a knot and close the zipper and waist, then you raise them over your head to scoop air into it. (4)"

"Really?", Ginji asked doubtfully.

"Yes! Now quit yapping and get ready to take your pants off," Ban barked.

Just as Ban had started to unzip his trousers, Ginji suddenly blurted out, "Ban-chan! Can't we just use that?"

Ban paused in mid-zip and looked to see that his partner was pointing to an orange lifesaver that was hanging on one side of the yacht's railings. "Oh... That...," he said, teardropping. "...also works."

Before any of them could do anything, they felt a hand grab at their necks from behind. The retrieval duo then felt themselves being lifted up and thrown back, their heads hitting each other as they landed on the deck right beside the helicopter.

Man, why did Ginji had to have hard rock for a head?, Ban thought, moaning.

As he rubbed the sore spot on his head, Ban's gaze landed on two huge black shoes that stepped right in front of the retrieval duo. His eyes trailed the outline of the figure in front of them, from the shoes to the black pants, the black suit, black tie, and finally, the black sunglasses resting on a very familiar undead face.

Ginji did a great job articulating what was in Ban's mind. "H-h-h... Hishiki-san?"

Daggers flew from the black-clad Dark Fleet agents that soon surrounded them, hitting the retrieval duo on several parts of their bodies. The wide grin that formed on the former professional wrestler's face was the last thing that they saw as the world whirled into a dark blur.

* * *

A/N: This chapter's title "attacca" is another musical term that means that the next movement is to follow immediately. It literally means "attack at once." Aside from the meaning being appropriate for this chapter, the music that Ban plays here, _Adagio molto e mesto_, actually uses this term.

(1) Ochoko is the small traditional cup for drinking sake.  
(2) A tokkuri is the traditional ceramic flask that holds sake.  
(3) "Shimo" means "frost" in Japanese.  
(4) Yes, you can actually use your pants as a flotation device. If you're really curious, you can find out more in the information wonderland known as the World Wide Web.


	9. Stretto

Disclaimer: I'm running out of ways to say that I don't own the Get Backers.

* * *

**IX. Stretto**

The bright overhead lamp bathed him in its stark white glow, its sharp contrast against the dark and dingy room aggravating the terrible headache that he just realized that he had. He blinked as his eyes adjusted. Beyond the glare of the light, he could make out moving silhouettes that seemed to watch him as they spoke with each other, their voices muffled by the dull ache in his head.

His senses, which were now starting to wake up, alerted him to something cold and rigid encircling his entire body. He looked down and found the source of the sensation.

He was propped up against the wall, restrained by some kind of metal cylinder enclosing him from his shoulders all the way down to his ankles. The wall itself was unusual, which consisted of rectangular foamy panels with ridges that intersected into criss-cross patterns.

_Soundproofing?_, he wondered.

There was a rusty-looking table at his right. On the table were flasks of varying sizes and shapes, some of which were empty while some contained different colored liquids. An array of assorted tools, most of which were sharp, were lined up neatly in front of the flasks. If this was some sort of deranged experiment, then soundproofing the walls made sense in order to block out the sounds of the test subject's screams. In this case, the test subject would be him.

Mido Ban frowned. _What is this place?_

His mind's addled state made it hard for him to concentrate, but he fought it, focusing all his mental energy into trying to recall what had happened.

After a great deal of effort, hazy images of the night's events started racing through his mind. Fighting in the garden. Speeding on the highway against oncoming traffic. Breaking the Ladybug's windshield. Iarra's glare as he shut the car's trunk. Playing the violin. Silvery hair and bluish daggers. Grabbing the briefcase. Ginji electrocuting a bunch of Dark Fleet agents. Running. Hishiki's grinning face as he blacked out.

_Damn_, he thought. He didn't prepare for Ryuudo Hishiki being on the ship, and he cursed himself for that oversight that had caused them to be captured. Whether by Dark Fleet or the Yakuza, he wasn't exactly sure.

_Am I still in the ship?_, he wondered. The room he was in was quite a contrast to the clean and crisp luxury yacht that he remembered. He listened closely, but it was hard to tell whether the murmurs that he heard were from the ship's engines or from his own throbbing headache.

He tried to move, but found that he couldn't, weakened by whatever toxins his body had received. He cursed.

The sound of muffled voices stopped as his captors realized that he was awake. The next sounds he heard were those of approaching footsteps. He looked up, squinting at the shadows as they came closer. There were five of them. They stopped just as they reached the border dividing the brightness of the overhead lamp and the darkness encompassing the rest of the room.

One of the shadows decided to cross that border, stepping closer to him into the light and allowing Ban to see his face.

"Mido Ban," the man said. "You're awake."

With his still blurry vision, Ban could not make out anything distinctive about the man's features. He was able to note, however, that the person standing in front of him was wearing black military-style cargo pants and a black shirt. Daggers were holstered at both sides of his hip.

_Aaah, it's Dark Fleet, then_, Ban thought.

The other four shadows stepped closer to him as well, revealing three similarly clad men and a girl.

"You've recovered faster than normal," another one of the men said. "Most people take hours to gain consciousness after being hit like that."

Ban mustered up what remained of his strength to say, "I appreciate your amazement. Can I go now?"

They chuckled.

"A funny one, this is," said Man #3.

With great effort, Ban lifted his head and glared. "Let's see if you'll still find me funny once I'm done slamming your body against the wall."

"Oooh, Mr. Retriever is acting like a tough cookie," Man #4 said, snickering mockingly. "If you weren't conked out and bound up, you would actually sound scary."

"I wouldn't underestimate him if I were you," the girl said to her comrades.

Ban looked at her, then blinked. Yes, his vision was blurry, but there was no mistaking that stance and that voice.

"Dagger Babe," he mumbled, surprise evident in his voice as he distincly remembered stuffing this particular girl in the Ladybug's trunk. "How'd YOU get here?"

She didn't answer his question but just looked at him curiously.

"Delirium venom," she finally muttered. She then turned to her comrades. "How much did you guys give him?"

"Uhh, I don't think we had it in our daggers," Man #1 said, frowning. "He's not gonna be of much use if his mental state is compromised. As you know, Delirium can alter a subject's sense of reality..."

"...causing him to conjure up false images from past memories," she said, interrupting. "Yes, I know." She then turned back to Ban. "Well, he's exhibiting symptoms of it."

_Great_, Ban thought. Being drugged up was one thing, but being drugged up with psychedelics was another. He needed his mind clear if he were to get out of this place.

She stepped right in front of him and peered at his face, as if observing something. Ban looked directly into her eyes. Yes, he was drugged up, but there was no mistaking it. It was her.

"I knew you couldn't be trusted," he muttered.

"Shut up, Mr. Retriever," she snapped back at him. "You're hallucinating."

He managed to snicker. "Even my hallucinations can't paint a very good picture of you."

With one swift movement, she pulled a silver dagger from her hip holster and pointed it at his throat.

"Whoa, calm down," Man #1 said to her. "Shinzaki-san wants him intact."

She smiled. "Relax. I just want to take a good look at him." With the blade of her dagger, she pushed his chin up, revealing the dried up cut on the right side of his neck that he had gotten during his earlier fight with Iarra in the garden. "And what do we have here, Mr. Retriever?"

Even in his weakened state, his blue eyes bore into hers as he responded with, "You don't recognize your little handiwork?"

She traced the dagger's tip along the cut, causing it to open up again. "This...", she said with amusement as blood began to ooze out of the wound. "... is what my handiwork looks like."

"Ummm," Man #2 said as he cleared his throat nervously. "We probably should wait for our orders before we start."

She paused, then stepped back as she put her dagger back in its holster. "Don't worry, I wasn't planning to start." She smiled slyly. "I was just having a little fun with the tough cookie."

She took another glance at Ban, who was looking back at her with a piercing glare. She then turned to walk towards the door, saying, "We should wait awhile and let the Delirium wear off."

They turned to follow her, chatting among themselves as they walked towards the metal door across the room.

"Who gave it to him, anyway?", one of the four men asked.

"I don't know. But there was a bunch of us there when we hit him."

"Somebody's not checking their daggers properly."

They had only walked a few steps when they heard Ban start muttering in a low voice.

"Even now, at thy right hand, until this cursed fate is spent..."

They stopped in their tracks.

"...Is the one who houses, Asclepius, who descends from the high heavens."

Curious, they turned to look back at their captive, who had his head bent down and eyes closed. They stood there, eyes transfixed at him as the translucent image of a serpent began circling his body.

"Therefore I invoke thee. Feed with your fangs of poison!"

He opened his eyes and at that moment, Ban's face took on an expression of pure rage as an unearthly growl came out of his lips. The metal cylinder holding him started to shake.

The Dark Fleet agents stepped back, their mouths hanging wide open at the sight before them. With a ferocious yell, he burst out of the metal cylinder, which tore apart like an exploding tin can. They gasped as they drew their daggers out.

They started to throw their weapons at him, but they were not quick enough for this demoniacal frenzy that seemed to posses their former captive. He evaded the daggers while attacking two of the Dark Fleet agents, grabbing their faces and hurling them furiously against the wall.

"Snakebite!", Ban yelled as he charged at two other agents, who ended up being slammed against the wall next to their comrades.

Flicking his head, his feral eyes landed on the last standing agent. The girl, who had somehow made her way towards the metal door during the commotion, had just finished securely bolting the door shut. She paused as she sensed him looking at her.

Slowly, she turned to him, and a chill ran up her spine as she saw the raw ferocity in those eyes. She braced herself.

He charged at her, but she did not move away. He pinned her against the door, clasping his right hand around her throat. She reacted to his attack by pulling her two daggers and pointing the blades at him, one at his midsection, the other at the side of his neck.

"Watch it, Mido," Iarra said softly, her eyes steadily meeting his, which were narrowed into slits. The strong killing aura emanating from him made the hairs on the back of her neck stand. She held her daggers tighter.

He tightened his grip on her neck, making her gasp for air as he almost completely cut her breath out.

_Has he gone mad?_, she thought as she looked at him, uncertainty trickling into her eyes. The eyes that looked back at her were not the eyes of the Get Backer that she knew, but were those of a much darker infernal version of Mido Ban that she had never seen before.

Just then, they heard some pounding on the door, and a man's voice called out, "What's going on in there?"

She thought of slashing with her daggers, then decided against it. Fighting him was not what she came here for. She relaxed her hold on her weapons, then raised her hands up. She let the daggers fall to the floor, opening her palms in a gesture of surrender.

"Need to..," she croaked out as she gasped for breath. "...get to... Gin..ji."

His eyes softened at the mention of his partner's name, and she felt him loosen his grip on her neck as those bright blue eyes reverted back to being those of Mido Ban, the Get Backer that she was more familiar with. Relieved, she took a deep breath, her lungs grateful for being filled once again with much needed air.

She then took that opportunity to give him a sharp shove back and said, "This is not the time to fight, Mido."

"Open up!", the man at the other side of the door yelled as he continued pounding.

She ran towards one section of the room, and began running her fingers onto the ridges on the walls.

"Where's Ginji?", Ban demanded.

"We'll get to him," she replied, as she continued running her fingers onto the ridges in some sort of sequence.

The pounding became louder this time and more forceful, as if the people outside were trying to break down the door.

"WHERE," Ban repeated, more forceful this time. "... is he?"

She gave one final push to one of the ridges, then replied, "I'll take you to him."

A section of the wall moved forward, then started sliding to the side, revealing a narrow passageway behind the walls.

She looked back at the four unconscious Dark Fleet agents on the floor, who were lined up next to each other against the wall. With one quick sequence of moves, she pulled a black dagger from behind her back and ran towards the agents. Ban noticed a flash of red on her dagger as she extended her blade towards them. She passed all four agents, and Ban noticed a small cut on each one of them.

She ended back where she came from, in front of the opened up passageway as she put the black dagger back in its holster behind her back.

"Memory venom," she told Ban as an answer to his questioning look. "It'll help them forget what just happened." She stepped towards the passageway, saying, "We need to go right now or we'll both end up in those metal tubes."

She opened her palms up, and her two daggers that she had dropped on the floor came flying towards them. She then entered the passageway and stepped to the right, disappearing behind the wall.

The sound of the pounding had changed this time, as the metal door started to bend inwards.

Iarra popped her head out from behind the wall. "You coming or what?"

Ban looked at the door that was about to be broken down, then back at Iarra. He frowned, then grudgingly stepped into the passageway. Iarra, who was at his right, nodded at him in acknowledgment as she pressed a button on the wall.

Soon after, the wall section that opened up started moving again behind him, this time to go back to its original position. The locking mechanism clicked, and the passageway became engulfed in complete darkness. Now that his head had become clearer, he was able to tell that the faint murmuring sound in the background definitely came from the ship's engine.

Just outside the passageway, Ban heard a loud crash as the metal door gave way from its hinges. The next sound he heard were several running footsteps, then a man's gruff voice.

"What happened here?"

Ban heard a few more footsteps, then a very soft sliding sound from inside the passageway at his right.

Beside him, Iarra had uncovered a very small circular hole in the wall, and a thin sliver of light cracked through it, casting soft shadows on her features. She leaned forward, pressing her palms against the wall as she aligned her eye with the hole, which Ban noticed seemed exactly the same size as her iris.

"The prisoner has escaped, sir," another man replied.

"How? The restraints are unbreakable, are they not?"

Nobody could give him the answer to that one.

"And where did the prisoner escape to? This room was locked from the inside."

Nobody could give him the answer to that one, either.

Ban heard a few more footsteps, and the fading sound of the gruff voice. "Check the security videos. He couldn't have gone far. We'll find him."

More footsteps followed, then silence.

"Good luck with that one," Iarra muttered as she slid the cover back over the hole, causing the space to be filled once again with darkness. "The control room has been taken care of. They won't find anything in the security videos." She then added, "Something that you should've done first before recklessly sauntering in."

The darkness didn't last long. Pretty soon, a dim blue light started to glow from Iarra's hand, illuminating the area with just enough light for them to see their surroundings. She caught him looking curiously at the source of light her hand.

"It's modeled after the bioluminiscence in black dragonfish, which uses this kind of light to lure its prey," she told him as she held up the glowing bead with her index finger and her thumb. "Once its prey gets too close, the dragonfish snaps it up with its fang-like teeth."

She extended her arm, moving the bead closer to Ban's face, then said softly, "Beautiful, isn't it? In the deep sea where light is rare, it's understandable how this can mesmerize unsuspecting critters to their deaths."

He didn't reply, but just shifted his gaze to her, his eyes piercing into hers.

She shifted under his scrutinizing glare, then said, "You may be unimpressed, but you gotta admit that it's a handy flashlight." With a wry smile, she added, "At least I don't have to borrow your lighter again." She wedged the glowing bead in between the helical patterns on the handle of her right dagger, where it stayed in place. She then turned her back to him to start walking along the passageway. "We should get going."

Before she took another step, Ban grabbed her right arm above the elbow, saying, "Not so fast."

She turned to him with a flustered look on her face.

"Now you listen to me, Dagger Freak," he said with a low voice. "I want answers. And I want them straight."

"I can't give you answers if I have no idea what your damn question is," she said.

"It's a simple one. Are you or are you not..", he began, his eyes narrowing as he looked probingly into hers. "...working for Dark Fleet?"

She sighed, then said, "I already told you..."

Ban yanked her arm and twisted her around, pinning her against the wall. Her left hand instinctively went over to her dagger, but before it made contact with the weapon, Ban had already grabbed her wrist with his free hand and pressed it hard on the wall, restraining any more movement on her part. He pushed her right arm up, pressing her cheek against the wall as a sharp pain ran up to her shoulder.

"Shit, Mido,", she groaned.

She felt his breath against her other cheek as he said, "Straight answer, Dagger Freak. I'm not in the mood for fooling around."

She scowled, then decided to indulge him with a proper reply. "No, I'm not working for Dark Fleet."

"Then why the hell were they acting like you were?"

"Because that's what I made them think," she retorted.

He looked at her suspiciously. "You're telling me that you just popped in, told them you were one of them, and they believed you."

She flicked her eyes at him to glare, then said, "Was that a question?"

"I find it hard to believe," Ban said. Snorting, he added, "Then again, you're such a good liar that I don't know what to believe."

"Mido," she said while rolling her eyes. "I just rescued you. The least you can do is try not to act like a big jerk."

"Rescued me?", Ban asked incredulously. "By breaking me out of that metal tube? Oh, wait. That was ME. Or maybe you did take down those agents while I was breaking free. Oh, wait. That was ME, too." He pressed harder on her arm, making her wince as her arm threatened to separate from its socket. "Nice try, Dagger Babe. I don't remember being rescued by you. What I do remember is being sliced by you."

With gritted teeth, she said, "You were sedated and I gave you the antidote, you dimwit."

Ban frowned as he looked at the girl in front of him.

"Your head cleared up right after, did it not?", Iarra continued.

He tried to recall what had happened before he summoned Aesclepius. He remembered his mind swimming as he regained consciousness, and how it took all of his energy to just try to focus. He knew he wouldn't have been able to summon Aesclepius in that discombobulate state. When DID his mind start to clear?

He hated to admit it, but dammit, she was right. He did start to think more clearly after she reopened the cut.

Taking his silence as a form of acknowledgment, she asked, "Are we done here? Can you let go now, please?"

He glared at her, but decided to concede. For now. Reluctantly, he loosened his grip on her, but not without giving her another glare.

She shot him a murderous look as she rubbed the sore spot on her arm where he gripped her. She then looked straight into his eyes, and said, "Look, you did save my life before, so I'm gonna forgive you for locking me in your trunk. BUT..."

Without warning, she gave him a sharp left uppercut followed by a right hook to the side of his head.

"OWWWW!", chibi Ban, whose head had become freakishly huge, exclaimed. "What was that for?"

"THAT..", she replied, her super deformed head enlarging to match his. "... was for almost strangling me to death! AND for almost pulling my arm off!"

"'Almost' is quite different from actually doing it!," he shot back as he rubbed the tennis-ball-sized bump that appeared on his chibi head.

She didn't say anything, but just turned back into her normal form as she started walking deeper into the passageway.

"Oi!", Ban called out to her as he also turned back into his normal form. "You still haven't told me where Ginji is."

"Follow me and we'll get to him," she answered back.

Left with no other good options, he followed. "What were they planning to do with me and Ginji, anyway?"

"With you, it's easy to figure out," she replied. "You were in the interrogation room."

"THAT was an interrogation room."

"Yes."

"I thought it was a torture chamber."

She chuckled. "Well, that's another way of looking at it."

"Are we even on the same ship?"

"Yes, this is still the _Pristine_. We're just above the engine deck level."

"Heh. Now that the makeup's off, she ain't that pretty," he remarked. "So why would they put me in the torture-chamber-slash-interrogation room?"

"To interrogate you, of course."

"Of course," he repeated, raising an eyebrow. "On what?"

"On what you know about the deal."

"But I know nothing about the deal," he said, frowning. "I didn't even know about the deal before you mentioned it."

"Yes, but they don't know that."

"Couldn't you have said that to them?"

"And make them suspicious? That wouldn't be very smart now, would it?"

"So you just stood by and watched while they injected me with that Delirium stuff," he said, tracing his fingers over the cut on his neck. "And if I didn't break free from that tube, you would have just stood there and watched while they torture me to get information that you knew I didn't have."

"First of all, it doesn't matter what I would've done. You got out," she shot back. "Second of all, they didn't inject you with Delirium. Yes, your mind was all fuzzy, but you were not in any way hallucinating. I just said that because you were gonna blow my cover, AND I wanted to stall them from poking things into you while the antidote takes effect. A 'thank you, Iarra' would be nice right about now."

"Thank you, Iarra, for not letting them poke me," Ban said sarcastically as he rubbed the cut on the neck that she gave him, which had started to get a little itchy. "It was very thoughtful of you to slice me up instead."

She was about to give him a snarky remark when she noticed him rubbing the cut on his neck. She stopped. "Are you okay?"

He looked at her, startled at the question, then chuckled.

She frowned. "What's so damn funny?"

"I thought it ironic that the person who just slit my throat asked me if I was okay."

She rolled her eyes, then turned around to continue walking. "I did NOT 'slit your throat'," she said, imitating his tone. "I just gave you a tiny scratch. Like a paper cut."

"I don't know what kind of paper YOU get cut with, but NORMAL people wouldn't be comparing this to a paper cut."

"It's just a scratch. For somebody who prides himself on being 'invincible', you can be quite the wuss."

"Wuss?", he exclaimed. "You might find this hard to understand, Dagger Freak, but most people don't find it a fun experience to have wounds reopened."

"Would you have preferred it if I gave you a new one, then?"

"I would've preferred it if you didn't give me any."

"Man, if I knew that you wanted to rot in that metal tube, then I would've just saved the antidote. That antidote isn't easy to get, and I've just COMPLETELY wasted it on you."

"I hate to break it to you, sweetheart, but I would've found a way to break out of there without your help."

They reached the end of the corridor, and the dim blue light illuminated another passageway that ran perpendicular to the previous one. Iarra chose to turn to the right.

"Which begs the question. Why are you being helpful, anyway?", Ban asked as he walked behind Iarra. This passageway was a lot narrower than the previous one, so Ban found himself having to walk a little bit sideways. He noticed that Iarra was just walking normally ahead of him, as her small frame could fit easily in between the walls.

"Why am I helping you, you mean?," Iarra asked. She paused, thinking. "That IS a very good question. Now that I remember what I have to put up with, I've started re-asking myself that."

"And?", Ban pressed her. "Have you come up with a good answer?"

She snickered. "I don't know about 'good', but here it is, anyway. While I was in your trunk waiting for my body to recover from being so callously incapacitated...", she began, emphasizing the last two words, to which Ban rolled his eyes. "...I've done some thinking. What Ginji said makes sense." She paused. "Since we are after different targets and we have a common enemy..." She turned around to face him. "Why not work together?"

He snorted. "You actually think working together is a good idea."

"I don't know if it was the lack of oxygen or that funky smell in that cramped trunk of yours that made me lose some brain cells, but yes, I do think it's a good idea. You don't agree?"

"Not really, no."

"I totally understand your sentiments, Mido," she said, snickering as she turned back to continue walking. "But right now, you're stuck with me. I know this ship like the back of my hand. It'll be for your own good if you work with me and stop being such a big jerk even for a little while."

"My own good, huh?", he repeated. "And what about you?"

She stopped again and looked at him. "What do you mean?"

"What's in it for you? And don't give me that innocent look, Dagger Freak. I don't believe you're that nice."

An amused smile appeared on her lips. "I might surprise you."

"I doubt it."

She chuckled, turned around, and started walking again. "Like I told you before," she continued as she made her way along the passageway. "It's very important for me that this deal doesn't go through. You being here is actually helping me. Because of your presence on this ship, Shinzaki is starting to doubt the Yakuza's competence in dealing with their enemies."

They reached another intersecting passageway, which Ban thought was worse than the previous one. Not only did Ban had to walk in that sideways angle, but he also had to bend his torso to the side as well since this one was not only narrower, but was also shorter. Irritatingly, the girl in front of him was still walking upright and forward, as the height of the ceiling was just a few inches above her head. It gave him a sense of déjà vu as he remembered the last time he was in Dark Fleet's maze of underground tunnels and passageways.

"Shinzaki," Ban said, remembering the name that Tomita used to refer to the middle-aged man that was seated across from him in the dining area. "He's the one that Tomita is making that deal with, right?"

Iarra answered, "Yes. He's one of the big bosses of Dark Fleet operations in Japan, particularly in the Tokyo area. This luxury superyacht is pretty much his base."

"And what do YOU know about the deal?", Ban asked her.

"I know enough."

He frowned at her vague answer. "Like that super valuable item that they kept talking about?", he asked. "The one that several different organizations are supposedly after?"

She didn't reply, but just kept walking.

"That's your target, isn't it?", he prodded.

She continued to ignore him.

"Oi, Dagger Freak! It's just a 'yes' or 'no' answer. You don't have to tell me what it is."

"Fine, if that'll shut you up," she said, sighing. "Yes, that's my target."

"So what exactly is it?"

She turned to face him, turning chibi in irritation. "Mido! You just said..." She stopped as he began to laugh.

"I know what I said," he told her, still chuckling. "I just thought I'd ask, that's all."

"Grrr," she grumbled in frustration as she turned back around to continue walking.

Ban's neck and lower back back started to get sore from the awkward position he had to maintain as he followed the former Dark Fleet agent in front of him.

"Damn," he snorted. "I'm beginning to think those underground tunnels with the booby traps weren't so bad." Then he added as an afterthought, "Unless this one's got its own surprises lurking around."

She snickered, then said, "Relax, this one's clear."

"What's up with Dark Fleet and secret passageways, anyway?", he asked.

"Havoc had these spyways built so he could monitor things much easier," she answered. She then smiled at him. "If you're running a company where your employees are criminals, you wanna make sure that they don't screw you over."

"Spyways, huh, " Ban repeated, as he observed her navigate through the narrow corridors with ease. "I don't know if you've noticed this, but these spyways seem to be suspiciously Iarra-sized. It kinda makes me wonder whether these things were designed with you in mind."

"They were," she said in response. "How very perceptive of you."

"So this is how the Silver Claw operates."

It wasn't a question. The statement caught Iarra off-guard, making her stop in her tracks. She opened her mouth as if to say something, but thought better of it. She continued walking.

"Why'd you leave Dark Fleet?", Ban asked.

She stopped again. This time, it was a question. And it was one that she did not feel like answering. Still with her back to him, she turned her head slightly towards him.

"This isn't the time to be talking about the past, Mido," she replied, her eyes averting his. "We should be focusing on the present, namely, getting to Ginji."

With that, she resumed walking.

Deciding to put off that discussion for another time, Ban shifted his attention to the task at hand. "So what are they planning to do with Ginji?," he asked.

The passageway ended. Jutting out from the wall in front of them were what looked like horizontal steel rungs that formed a line from Iarra's hip-height and continued upwards towards an opening in the low ceiling.

"I'm not sure," she replied as she started climbing, stepping on the first rung, then reaching up to hold on to the next. "But he's not in the interrogation rooms, or in any other rooms where they usually hold prisoners. I scoured through the surveillance videos before I disabled them, and I couldn't find him."

"Where is he, then?", Ban asked, worry evident in his voice.

"I don't know."

Ban looked like he was about to explode.

"BUT...", she continued before he could say a word. "I have an idea."

She continued to climb up, then disappeared through the hole. Ban stepped closer to the rungs and put his head through the opening, relieved that he could finally stand up straight. He stretched then looked around. This next level was just another passageway, which Iarra did not choose to take. The rungs continued to go up, and with the dim blue light, they seemed to just disappear into the darkness.

He watched Iarra as she continued climbing, expecting her to elaborate. She didn't. She just continued putting one foot up on the rung ahead of the other as she climbed up.

When he couldn't bear it any longer, he asked irritatedly, "Does your idea include filling me in on the details, by any chance?"

"Oh," she said, as if coming back from being lost in thought. "Of course." She looked down at him. "You can start climbing up, too, you know."

"How do you know you're even going in the right direction?"

As she reached the next deck level up, she sat down, her legs dangling down through the opening. "I don't," she said as she looked down at him. "But it's a deduction based on what I've seen."

He watched her swing her legs up, then disappear from the hole. "I'm still waiting for the part where you tell me what your idea is."

"Come on up, and I'll show you," he heard her voice say.

He scowled as he looked up. He did not like the idea of having to follow Iarra around, especially since he was still unsure of her intentions and where her loyalty lies. From what he had seen, deception was something that this girl was very good at, so trust is a risk that he wasn't sure he was willing to give.

_"Ban-chan!"_

The image of Ginji with a sheepish grin went through his head.

* * *

_"How do you do this again?", the blond retriever asked as he fumbled with his bow tie._

_They were at the Honky Tonk Cafe. The Get Backers had decided to stop there earlier this evening to get into their rental tuxedoes before their job began. It was supposed to be a quick stop, but Ginji's struggles with his tux was starting to delay them._

_"Ginji," Ban said, sighing exasperatedly. "How many times have we worn tuxes? You should know how to do this by now."_

_"I'm sorry, Ban-chan. But it's sooo confusing."_

_Sighing, he went over to his partner to undo the tangled mess that Ginji created in his failed bow tie attempt._

_"Now pay attention, Ginji," he said. "This is the last time I'm teaching you."_

* * *

_Tch_, Ban thought. _Of all the things to remember, why do I remember these useless things?_

He snickered at the image of Ginji with a foolish-looking grin on his face, watching him as his fingers easily went through the knots and loops that transformed a simple strip of fabric into an elegant bow tie.

His smile quickly disappeared as the thought of not seeing the blond's grin again briefly crossed his mind.

_Dammit_, Ban thought, cursing himself. He shouldn't be so pessimistic. If something happened to Ginji, he would know, right?

The blue light from Iarra's bioluminiscent bead grew dimmer as she started walking away from the hole. Yes, putting his trust in this girl was a risk, indeed. But... it was a risk that he had to take if he wanted to get to his partner.

_Hold on, Ginji_, he thought. _I'm coming._

* * *

A/N: This chapter's title "stretto" is another musical term that refers to a technique in a fugue where there is an overlapping of two parts or voices. In this chapter, this can refer to the fact that the Get Backers' goal overlaps with Iarra's. The word "stretto" in Italian can also mean "tight" or "narrow", so I guess the title can also refer to these passageways that Ban loves so much :)


	10. Sotto Voce

Disclaimer: I still don't own GB.

* * *

**X. Sotto Voce**

The blue glow beckoned to him from the end of the corridor, which was still too narrow for his shoulders. Mido Ban stepped sideways towards it, wary of what the ex-Dark Fleet agent had in store for him. As he walked towards the light, he couldn't help but remember Iarra's words earlier.

_"It's modeled after the bioluminiscence in black dragonfish, which uses this kind of light to lure its prey," she told him as she held up the glowing bead with her index finger and her thumb. "Once its prey gets too close, the dragonfish snaps it up with its fang-like teeth." She extended her arm, moving the bead closer to Ban's face, then said softly, "Beautiful, isn't it? In the deep sea where light is rare, it's understandable how this can mesmerize unsuspecting critters to their deaths."_

_How appropriate_, Ban thought regarding Iarra's little trinket. _Lure its prey... Mesmerize unsuspecting critters to their deaths... Heh, she couldn't be more subtle._

Yes, he had decided that it was best to work with Iarra for now, but he had to keep his eyes open for any snapping fang-like teeth that might happen to be lurking around.

He reached the end of the corridor, which led into another passageway perpendicular to where he was. Turning his head to the blue glow emanating from his left, he spotted Iarra down the hall. He knew she was already aware of his presence, but she seemed to ignore him as she continued to look intently through an opening on the wall.

Irritatingly, he still had to walk sideways in this new corridor. As he was about to approach her, he noticed that she had her hands resting on the hilts of her daggers. Whether it was because of habit or because she was ready to attack him, he wasn't sure, but he wasn't taking any chances. He turned around, making sure that his right hand was the one closer to her just in case.

He went as far as he could go, stopping as he got to her side. He rested his back against the wall, crossing his arms over his chest as he watched her. She still didn't budge.

"You were gonna show me something," he finally said.

She flicked her eyes to him, then put her index finger over her lips to tell him to be quiet, which irritated him more. She slid the covering over the hole, then turned to him.

"I don't usually have conversations inside these walls, so I'm not sure how sound travels here," she whispered. "They might hear us."

A questioning look went over his face at the word 'they', which Iarra noticed. She went on to explain, "I didn't see Ginji in the surveillance videos, but I did see a group of Fleet agents in this particular room, and they looked like they were guarding something very important."

"Something," he repeated, his eyes narrowing.

"Or someone."

"They could be guarding anything," he said, frowning at her. "I thought your deduction would be based on something with more weight than just wild guesses."

She gave him an annoyed look. "It's not a wild guess. Now if you could just lose the attitude and listen for a bit, I'll tell you why I think Ginji's in there."

Leaning his right shoulder against the wall, he crossed his arms over his chest, turned as much as he could in the cramped space towards her, and looked at her expectantly. "I'm listening."

She uncovered the small hole in the wall and gestured towards it. "See for yourself."

His eyes moved down to her daggers, where her hands were still resting. Grudgingly, he bent his knee so he could move his right eye towards the hole, but not before giving her a 'don't-try-anything-funny' look, to which she just rolled her eyes.

Through the hole, Ban could see a large warehouse-type room containing rows of steel racks that reached almost to the high ceiling, its shelves filled with all sorts of boxes. Moving around the racks were some Dark Fleet agents, while others stood near the walls, which he noticed had several doors.

"See the doors at the room's perimeter?", Iarra whispered. "Those are entrances to ESD rooms."

"ESD?", Ban echoed.

"Electo-Static Discharge," Iarra replied.

His eyes flicked towards Iarra. "When you said 'ESD room', did you mean that the room prevents the buildup of static electricity? (1)"

"Yes," she answered. "That's what a normal ESD room does."

He frowned at the tone of her voice. "I take it that those are not normal ESD rooms."

"Correct," she answered again. "This ship sometimes smuggles highly sensitive electronic equipment. Since they don't want to risk any kind of damage to the electronic components, they built rooms with a special kind of ESD ability that does not permit any kind of electricity buildup whatsoever. They're sort of more aggressive where they actually drain out a big chunk of the electricity that the body creates (2). For most people, being drained of electricity is not a big deal. But I'm not sure what the effect will be on somebody whose strength is very much intertwined with the electricity that courses through his veins."

Ban froze, his mind starting to churn out possibilities on what that could mean - possibilities that don't turn out well for his electrically inclined partner. "Shit," he mumbled as he peered again at the agents guarding the room.

"You said it," Iarra said. "And THAT is why I think Ginji's in there."

Ban turned to lean his head back against the wall, crossing his hands across his chest as he thought about what she just said.

"When I first saw them in the surveillance videos," Iarra continued as she pressed the pommel of her right silver dagger. A tiny section of the hilt moved back, revealing a small hole. "There were only four people, which is one Dark Fleet team. Same number as those that were guarding you."

Ban watched as she took two black beads that were attached to her bodice, inserting them one after the other into the hole on the dagger's hilt.

"Now, they've added two more teams, making it a full squad, plus a squad leader," she continued as she pressed the pommel again, and the small covering returned to its original position. "Thirteen people, in total." She noticed him watching her, so she gave him a look that asked 'What?'.

"Oh, nothing. I just find it interesting to know where you keep your nasty stuff," he remarked as he looked closely at the beads on her bodice, then at her daggers.

"If you care to remember, this dagger contained the antidote that I used on you a while ago, so I would call it 'good stuff'," she retorted. "What I would be using on those agents, though," she added, a sly smile forming on her lips as she tapped her newly loaded dagger. "...this you can call 'nasty stuff'."

"I don't care what you call it as long as it's stuff that's a good ways away from me."

She just smirked in reply, then looked through the opening on the wall again. "Anyway, if my deduction is correct and Ginji really is in there..."

"He is," Ban interrupted.

She stopped and looked at Ban, who had a no-nonsense look in his eyes that dissuaded her from questioning him. Not that she would, since it was one of those rare times that he was actually agreeing with her. She slid the covering over the hole again, and continued with her line of thought.

"I think they've added more people after finding out that you've escaped," she said. "They want to prevent him from doing the same."

"It doesn't matter. They're still outnumbered," Ban said.

Iarra's brows furrowed in confusion. "There are thirteen of them."

Ban turned his head to her to elaborate and gave her a lopsided smile. "There are thirteen of them, and one of me. I'd say they're at a disadvantage."

She snickered. "Yeah, but it only takes a few seconds for any one of them to call for help." She reopened the hole in the wall, then gestured towards it. "See those things at their belts? Those are communicators. They just have to press one button, and more of them will be coming this way."

Ban gave a quick look through the opening to see what she was talking about. Unfazed, he turned to her and said, "That's where you come in. You worry about the buttons, and I'll worry about the people."

She sighed as she slid the covering back over the hole. "If you're saying that I should disable their communications network, then I'm afraid that's not possible. We're gonna need much more time than what we have right now."

Ban snorted. "And I thought you were good. You're falling behind expectations here."

"Yeah, it would be nice if I could just wave my magic wand and make all your wishes come true, but unfortunately, my skills aren't the same as what you have in la-la land."

"Okay. Since your skills are pretty much useless, I'll take them all by myself, then. Now tell me how to open this wall."

She raised an eyebrow. "I know you are more than capable of taking on all thirteen of them, but did you miss the part where I said that it only takes a few seconds for any one of them to call for help?"

"Nope, I got that. That just means that I need to take them all down faster than they can press that button."

"And THAT'S your plan," Iarra snorted. "With planning like that, I really do wonder how you manage to keep yourself alive."

"Well, do you have other ideas?," Ban countered.

"As a matter of fact, I do," she spat back. "I was actually thinking of diverting them first to at least split them up. That way we can deal with half of them first, then the other half later."

"Well, that plan sucks," Ban said. "Now tell me how to get this wall to open."

She glowered. "And why, pray tell, does the plan suck, oh Smart One?"

"It would take too long. Now for the last time, tell me how to get this wall to open...," he said, clenching his right fist then holding it up. "... or I'll open it my way."

She just glared at him in reply.

"Fine. Don't say I didn't give you a choice," he said. He started to swing his fist to the wall.

"Alright, alright! Sheesh," she said. "They don't know about these passageways, Mido. I don't want to lose this advantage that we have right now just because a shortsighted dunderhead would rather create a hole in the wall, which is one sure way of turning these 'secret passageways' into just 'passageways'."

He glared, then said, "The only dunderhead I see is the lollygagger who's more concerned about saving these 'secret passageways' when SOMEBODY out there is currently being drained lifeless."

Iarra's features softened at the genuine concern for his partner that was hiding underneath the fierce look that Ban was giving her.

In a low voice, he continued, "Now, if you don't open this wall right now, I will open it myself. You can feel free to stay in your precious passageways." He then proceeded with swinging his fist.

"Whoa, calm down, Mido," she said, raising her hands to stop him. With a sigh, she pointed to the direction where they had come from and said, "It's that way."

He looked at where she was pointing at, then back at her with doubt in his eyes, his fist still in midair.

"It's not far," Iarra said pointedly.

He gave her another suspicious look before unclenching his fist. Since he wasn't too thrilled about turning his back to her, he leaned his back against the wall, giving her some space to walk through, then said, "After you."

After being at the receiving end of the berserker mode that he showed earlier, she wasn't too thrilled herself about having to be within less than an arm's reach of this particular retrieval agent, especially when said retrieval agent's eyes were narrowed at her with suspicion. Nope, the space in front of him didn't seem very inviting at all. Gingerly, she took a step sideways in front of him, facing him as she forced her eyes to meet his unwaveringly.

He was very much aware of how her hands tightened their grip on the daggers holstered at her hips; and as she stepped in front of him, he bore his eyes into hers, discouraging her from making any kind of deviating movement.

They stared at each other, their eyes conveying a silent warning to the other not to try anything funny. After what seemed like a very long time, she finally broke her gaze from him and took another step sideways, turning her back to him but with senses still alert as she continued walking forward across the narrow corridor.

_So far, so good_, Ban thought as he watched her, the blue glow from her bead fading away as she made her way towards the other end of the passageway. No snapping fang-like teeth had appeared. Not yet, anyway.

* * *

Pieces of metal laid at his feet - pieces that were once part of the supposedly unbreakable restraints that formerly held the dark-haired retrieval agent named Mido Ban. The four Dark Fleet agents that guarded the prisoner had already been moved to another room, where they awoke to interrogators that demanded to know what had happened. They were unable to get any clear answers as none of the agents could recall the events that had transpired. It also did not help them that the surveillance videos just showed static.

Shimo found it intriguing. From what he had heard about the Get Backers, he was willing to concede that perhaps they were stronger than Dark Fleet had expected. Yes, he had heard that Mido Ban was exceptionally strong, so he was not that surprised that the retriever was able to break free from the metal restraints that had him bound.

As for the agents' memories that had been erased... The Memory Venom used by Dark Fleet was able to do that, but he was also aware of several other means that could cause it, such as a certain scent used by the transporter known as Lady Poison. He even found it believable that perhaps Mido's own famous Jagan could have done it.

However, the manipulation of the surveillance videos indicated knowledge on how the security systems in the _Pristine_ worked. He doubted that the Get Backers had access to that information.

Which brought him to his current puzzle. Besides him, who else would have intimate knowledge of this yacht? There were very few people who did, as far as he knew.

As his ice blue eyes surveyed the scene before him, something on the floor caught his attention. He walked over to it and knelt down to pick it up. In his hand was a small black bead. His breath caught in his throat.

_It can't be_, he thought.

* * *

Two Dark Fleet agents walked in tandem between the steel shelves, their steps relaxed yet alert. They reached the end of the row, so the agent in front turned right to start walking between the next row of shelves. His partner followed close behind. He and his partner had been doing this for some time now, and he was beginning to wonder whether their boss Shinzaki-san was just being paranoid. In the spaces between the variously shaped boxes that were on the shelves, he could see his fellow agents doing the same thing - walking aimlessly yet keeping their eyes open for possible threats.

He reached the end of the row of metal racks, and he turned again to start walking on the next row. As he walked further, his senses alerted him that something was amiss. He stopped. He turned to his partner to say something, but was surprised to see that he was by himself. He looked around and saw that some Dark Fleet agents were still walking around the other racks, although there seemed to be fewer of them. Puzzled, he retraced his steps back to where he last saw his partner. He turned the corner, then gasped.

On the floor was his partner, unconscious. His hands automatically went to his daggers and were about to pull them out when he felt a hand grip his neck from behind. Quickly, he turned his head as much as he could to look at his attacker. Spiky hair and purple glasses were the last things he saw before he blacked out.

* * *

The squad leader flicked his head towards the rows of metal racks as he heard a soft thud. He pulled out a dagger with one hand, and his communicator with the other as he started to walk towards the source of the sound. He felt a breeze behind him, so he quickly turned around and was astonished at the sight of the other Dark Fleet agents that used to be standing behind him, but had somehow ended up flattened on the floor.

He quickly moved his communicator near his mouth, but before he could say anything, a silver dagger hit his hand, making him drop the device. Before his mind could process what was going on, he found himself flying before being slammed against the wall.

Mido Ban adjusted his glasses as he watched the hapless squad leader feel the effects of a 200-kg grip before hitting the wall and sliding down onto a crumpled heap on the floor.

"And that," he said as his face changed into a super deformed smirk. "...concludes tonight's episode of How To Handle A Whole Squad Quietly And Swiftly, as presented by the Invincible Mido Ban-sama!"

Eyes rolled on Iarra's super deformed chibi face. "I'd like to say 'bravo', but the ending wasn't all that quiet."

"I like ending things with a bang," he said as he then turned back to his normal form. "Besides, he didn't need to be quiet. He was the last one."

"That's true," Iarra conceded, albeit reluctantly, as she also turned back to her normal form. She reached out her hand and the silver dagger that was on the squad leader's hand flew towards her. She caught it then put it back in her sheath.

They were interrupted by the sound of static, then a faint voice from the squad leader's communicator. "Squad Nine here responding to your beacon. Do you need help?"

"Except that he was able to press that button," she added, glaring at Ban.

"Hey, he was closer to you," Ban said, glaring back. "You should've taken care of him."

"You said you were gonna take them all by yourself," she countered as she walked over to the communicator and picked it up. "I thought that meant that I just needed to sit back, relax, and enjoy the show."

The voice from the communicator said again, "Squad Nine to Squad Four. Do you copy?"

"Tell them it was a false alarm," Iarra said as she threw the device to Ban.

Ban caught it, then scowled at her. "Why don't YOU tell them?"

"Do you see other females here?", she asked him exasperatedly. "Don't you think a female voice would sound just a tad weird?"

The voice came on again. "Do you copy, Squad Four?"

Still scowling, Ban pressed a button on the communicator and spoke, "Squad Four here. No need to worry. It was just a false alarm."

"What happened?," the voice asked.

Ban frowned. "Umm... I uhh.. slipped, and I accidentally pressed the button."

"You slipped?", the voice repeated.

"Yeah," he answered. "I was showing off my awesome dagger skills, and I didn't notice the banana peel on the floor."

Iarra raised an eyebrow. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to hand him the communicator.

"What?", the voice, now sounding confused, asked. "Who is this?"

"Squad Four," Ban replied. "Who else could this be?"

"What's your designation?", the voice persisted.

He frowned again. For his reply, he said, "Ksshhhhshshhhh... What did you say? Kshshshsh... I just hear a lot of static... Kshshshshshhh... Sorry, you're breaking up... ..." He then hurled the communicator to the wall.

Iarra's jaw dropped to the floor, stupefied as she watched the device break up into tiny pieces. She turned angrily to Ban, then burst out, "WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?"

"That," Ban said as he walked calmly towards one of the doors. "...concludes tonight's episode of How To End An Annoying Conversation."

She continued to glower at him. "You do realize that you just raised a lot of red flags there."

"I don't care," he said, shrugging. "We'll be out of here soon, anyway."

"What?", she asked, still flabbergasted. "We still have to look for Ginji."

"Found him," he said as he stopped in front of a door.

Without another word, he slammed his fist into it. Wondering how he could be so sure that it was the right door, Iarra watched him as he yanked the door off its hinges. He threw the door back across the warehouse, entered the ESD room, then stopped in his tracks.

Right in the middle of the room was the motionless form of Amano Ginji, who was lying stomach down with his cheek pressed against the floor. He looked unnaturally pale.

"Ginji," he called out as he ran to kneel down in front of the blond retriever.

With great effort, Ginji blinked at the dark-haired retriever beside him. His eyes lit up as he recognized the familiar form of his partner.

"Ban-chan," he said weakly. "I'm glad you're okay. I was so worried about you."

Ban gave a sigh of relief as he heard his partner speak. "Baka," he said. "I'm the Invincible Mido Ban-sama, remember? You're the one who's in very bad shape. You should be worrying about yourself."

"It's not that bad," Ginji said as he fought to keep his eyes open. "I'm just a little weak, that's all."

"Stop saying stupid things, Ginji," Ban said as he draped Ginji's arm around his shoulder. "This room's draining you of all of your electrical energy. That would make you severely weak, not 'a little weak'."

"Oh, is that what this is?", Ginji asked as Ban stood up, helping him to his feet. "I was wondering why this room felt so weird."

"Well, let's get you out of here so you can recharge," Ban said with a smile as they made their way to the door.

* * *

"Shimo-san," a Dark Fleet agent said as he approached the silver haired man.

The silver-haired agent looked up from his kneeling position, the black bead still in his hand.

"Yes?", Shimo asked.

"We've lost contact with Squad Four."

"Is that so?," Shimo said. He stood up, clenching his fist tightly around the bead. He should've known that it was only a matter of time before the other retriever escaped as well.

"Our team is on their way and ready to engage."

"Hold on," Shimo told him as he made his way to the door. "I would like to check on something first. Stand by for further orders."

"Hai."

* * *

"Now where'd she go?", Ban muttered as he held Ginji's arm tightly over his shoulder, dragging his partner's enervated body out of the ESD room.

Ginji's eyes skimmed across the warehouse-type room, landing on the Dark Fleet agents that were strewn all over the floor.

"Who, Ban-chan?," Ginji asked.

"Dagger Babe," he replied.

Ginji frowned. "Didn't we leave her in the trunk?"

"She got out," Ban said as he approached the section of the wall where the opening to the spyways was. "... and led me here. She was right here before I came to get you."

"Oh, she got out?," Ginji said. "And helping us, too. That's great. I knew we could all work together."

Ban snorted. "I'm still not sure whether she really is helping us. Maybe that's why she disappeared. Maybe this is all a setup."

"Nah," Ginji said, still weak, but able to shake his head. "She's no longer working for Dark Fleet."

"Yeah, that's what she said, but, we don't really know if that's true."

"She's not lying, Ban-chan."

"What makes you so sure?", Ban asked.

"I don't know. Call it a gut feeling."

"Well, let's just hope that your gut feeling is right. If not, then we're screwed big time." He knelt down to let Ginji sit against the wall, then muttered, "I don't think our client's paying us enough for all this trouble."

Ginji smiled. "Ban-chan, you worry about money too much. I'm happy as long as we're both alright."

"Okay," Ban said, a lopsided smile on his face. "You can have the happiness, and I'll have the money, which I'll be using to get myself a BIG sukiyaki dinner when we get back to Tokyo." He sighed, a dreamy look coming over his face. "Aahh, sukiyaki. ALL for me..."

"Ban-chan, you're so mean."

Ban chuckled, glad to see the color coming back onto Ginji's face. His gladness, though, was short-lived as an uneasy feeling came over him. Ginji felt it, too. His eyes met Ban's as both retrievers' faces tensed up.

Ban felt it coming. With lightning speed, he gave Ginji a mighty push, making his partner slide across the wall. Ban rolled across the wall to his feet and crouched, his right hand curled in its claw-like form.

Embedded on the section of the wall where he and Ginji had just been was a dagger, its handle seemingly covered in frost.

"Damn," Ban muttered.

* * *

A/N: This chapter's title, sotto voce, means "undertone" (literally "under voice" in Italian). In music, it refers to singing or playing a instrument in hushed tones. In this chapter, I used it to refer to Ban and Iarra's sneaking around and trying to stay under the radar.

(1) This is true. I had some super basic ESD training (I'm not an expert), which was the source of inspiration for this part of the story.  
(2) This part is not true and only exists in the wonderful world of fiction (as far as I know, anyway. I could be wrong. Did I mention that I'm not an expert?).


	11. Agitato

Disclaimer: I still don't own GB. Surprise, surprise.

* * *

**XI. Agitato**

Ban felt it coming. With lightning speed, he gave Ginji a mighty push, making his partner slide across the wall. Ban rolled across the wall to his feet and crouched, his right hand curled in its claw-like form.

Embedded on the section of the wall where he and Ginji had just been was a dagger, its handle seemingly covered in frost.

"Damn," Ban muttered.

They heard the sound of somebody chuckling. Soon after, the silver-haired Dark Fleet agent stepped into view from behind the steel racks, saying, "Not bad, Get Backers."

Ban got up, his eyes sizing up the newcomer as he said, "It's Shimo, isn't it? How nice of you to show up."

"Aaah, yes," the agent responded, smiling. "Where are my manners? I haven't properly introduced myself." He held his hand up, and the frost-covered dagger flew back into his hand, its bluish blade glistening. "As you know, my name is Shimo."

"That's great," Ban said. "Now we know the name of the guy that ends up splat on the floor."

"You amuse me, Mido Ban," Shimo said, chuckling. His eyes moved over to Ginji, who was struggling to get up into a sitting position while giving him a guarded look. "Your partner here doesn't look so good, though. He could use some of that spunk."

"That would be thanks to you," Ban snapped back. "That's one interesting room you have back there."

"Of course. We can't have the Lighting Emperor running loose around here."

"I prefer being called Amano Ginji of the Get Backers," Ginji said, his eyes still set on Shimo.

"The name 'Lighting Emperor' strikes more fear into the hearts of your enemies, so I don't particularly understand why you want to give up that name. But so be it, Amano Ginji of the Get Backers," he said with a slight shrug. "Now that we've gotten the formalities over with, let's get straight to the point." He then pulled out his other dagger.

"Sure, sharp objects are always helpful when you're making a POINT," Ban remarked.

Shimo smiled. "You really are amusing."

"Yeah, I can be quite the comedian," Ban responded wryly.

"As I was about to say," Shimo said, ignoring the sarcasm. "Your presence has rippled the waters for us here. Dark Fleet is willing to give you an offer in order for both of our courses to be more smooth-sailing."

"I think you should know that we're not very eager about accepting offers from criminals, especially criminals with sharp objects in their hands."

Shimo smiled again. "It's quite reasonable, you'll find. All you need to do is forget about your target and you can disembark from this ship peacefully."

"Heh," Ban said. "Just as I thought. It's another variation of those leave-and-we'll-let-you-live kind of offers that shady people are so fond of giving."

"I take it that it's not reasonable for you?"

"Oh, don't take it the wrong way, Shimo," Ban replied, snickering. "It's not that your offer doesn't make us jump for joy just thinking about it. It's just that we actually don't care about you that much. What we're after is Tomita's ring. So if we could just get ahold of him, we'll be out of here faster than you can say 'bite my frosted ass'."

"I see that we have a dilemma here," Shimo said. "The ring is now the property of Dark Fleet. That means that you DO have to care about us, unfortunately."

Ban frowned at what Shimo had just said. "What in the world would you want to use that ring for?"

"That should not concern you. So what do you say about our offer?"

The dark-haired retriever snorted. "As great as it sounds, we would have to say thanks, but no thanks. We're not giving up our 100% success rate."

"Almost 100%", Ginji interrupted.

"Shut up, Ginji."

Shimo chuckled, then said, "That's too bad." He then positioned his daggers in a battle stance, glancing briefly at Ginji, who was leaning his head back against the wall, obviously still weak. "Since Amano's out," he started, then turned his eyes to Ban. "... It seems that it's you, Mido, that I need to deal with. Let me just tell you that I'm looking forward to seeing you in action. I've heard so much about your skills, and I'm curious to know how much has been exaggerated."

Ban smirked. "I guess you haven't heard that 'curiosity killed the cat'."

In response, Shimo smiled, then said, "We shall see."

He then hurled a dagger at Ban, who jumped up to avoid it. Shimo watched him move in the air, then hurled the other dagger to where he was supposed to land. Ban saw it coming, so he rolled in midair and landed a good distance away.

But Shimo did not let up. He summoned both of his daggers, then threw them at Ban one after the other, making Ban do a series of dodges and leaps in order to avoid being hit. Where Shimo's daggers landed, Ban noticed the spot crystallizing as if covered in ice. He also noticed that even though he stood very close to some fallen Dark Fleet agents, which were scattered around the warehouse, Shimo seemed to make sure that none of his daggers hit his comrades.

_This guy is good_, Ban thought. A far cry from the other small fries that he and Iarra had just dealt with. _Speaking of which... where is Iarra?_

A dagger flew very close to his face, making Ban decide to just concentrate on his current situation. Finally, he found an opening in Shimo's defense, and he took it.

"Snakebite!", he yelled as his right hand took a chunk out of Shimo's left shoulder.

Shimo groaned as his knees dropped to the ground. He released his hold on his dagger as his right hand enclosed his pained left shoulder.

The agent chuckled, then said, "I should say that I do find your skills impressive."

"Gee, thanks," Ban replied sarcastically. "Your compliments are very touching."

Shimo looked up at him, then smiled. "It's true. It almost makes me believe that you didn't have any help."

Ban stopped and frowned. "What do you mean?"

Looking him directly in the eye, Shimo said, "You know very well what I mean."

Ban just looked at him, unsure of where this was going.

In a quiet voice, Shimo asked, "Where is she?"

In a similarly quiet voice, Ban responded with, "Who?"

Shimo sighed, then asked, "Do you really want to play this game, Mido?"

Shimo summoned his dagger, and it flew back to his right hand. Ban watched in fascination as Shimo pierced his left shoulder with it, the edges of his blade glowing blue. Pretty soon, a very thin ice-like sheet covered Shimo's injured shoulder.

Ban remarked, "I never thought I'd see somebody actually giving himself the cold shoulder."

"Ice salve," Shimo said with a smile. "It numbs the pain while accelerating the healing process, neutralizing your Snakebite quite nicely."

Ban just looked straight at him, unfazed.

"So," Shimo said as he stood up in a battle stance once again. "I believe you know her whereabouts."

"I believe you are wrong," Ban retorted.

Shimo was obviously not happy with Ban's reply. He threw another dagger at him, which he easily dodged.

Ban landed on the top shelf of one of the metal racks, crouching in front of one of the large boxes that were on the rack as he glared at the Dark Fleet agent down below.

Shimo hurled another dagger at him. Ban evaded it again, and Shimo's dagger punched a hole through the box that was right behind Ban, making dark gray powder pour out from the hole like water from a leaky faucet.

Ban dropped down to the floor below. He quickly charged at Shimo, his right hand in its claw-like form. Shimo ducked and quickly reappeared behind Ban, his dagger in his hand. Ban twisted his body around and grabbed the agent's wrist just as he was about to plunge his weapon into the retriever.

Ban tightened his grip on Shimo's wrist as they glared at each other. Ice blue eyes on bright blue.

Undaunted, Shimo said quietly, "Mido, I ask you once again. Where is she?"

"Beats me," Ban replied.

Shimo shook his head in disapproval. "That is not the answer that I'm looking for, Mido."

"Too bad. That's what you're getting."

Shimo summoned his other dagger, but before he was able to catch it, Ban yanked Shimo's wrist and with it, sent him flying. Shimo dropped his dagger to the floor as he hit one of the metal racks, making it topple to its side, its contents tumbling down off its shelves. It hit the next metal rack, which leaned over to the next rack, and the next, in a cascading domino effect that ended with the last rack hitting the wall, creating a large hole. Dust from the newly rearranged room kicked up, making Shimo cough.

He glared at the retriever, then said, "You can drop the act, Mido. I know she's been with you. I want to know where she is."

"Well, we don't always get what we want, do we?," Ban said in his typical nonchalant way as he adjusted his glasses. "You're just wasting your breath, Frosty."

Although a little shaken, Shimo got up and summoned his daggers back.

"She disappeared," Ban continued. "Your guess is as good as mine."

Not satisfied with Ban's answer, Shimo crossed his daggers in front of him, its blades glowing blue. In a low voice, he said, "Ice cocoon."

He pointed a blade towards Ban, and a streak of ice shot out from the blade to where Ban was. Ban gasped in surprise as he rolled to the side, narrowly missing the icy projectile.

_He's getting serious_, Ban thought as he ducked and dodged each ferocious attack that Shimo was giving him. He tried giving attacks of his own, but his opponent was able to evade or at least turn his body in a way that diminishes the effects of his hits.

Ginji watched in concern at the exchange. The room was getting a bit colder, perhaps due to Shimo's continuous ice attacks. On any given day, he knew that his partner was stronger than this guy, but because of Ban's serpentine disposition, the drop in temperature was making him move a little bit more sluggishly.

_C'mon, just one blast_, he told himself.

Ginji closed his eyes and concentrated. Pretty soon, small sparks of electricity started to dance around his fingers. If he could just generate enough electricity, he might be able to help out his partner. His face crunched up with the effort.

Shimo had his whole focus on Ban and did not notice the plasma ball that was forming in the other Get Backer's hands. In the middle of his attacks on Ban, he felt something fly towards him from behind. He quickly turned around and blocked whatever it was with his daggers. His daggers sizzled as they made contact with the plasma ball, the impact throwing him back to the wall.

He remained standing, and an expression of surprise came over his face as he looked at the burn marks on his hands and the thin wisps of smoke floating up from the blades of his daggers.

"So," he said as he turned to Ginji with narrowed eyes. "You want to take part in the action, I see."

Ginji gritted his teeth and summoned all his strength to generate an electrical field. A few sparks started to surround his body, but soon died away as he slouched against the wall, moaning in pain.

"Don't worry," Shimo said as he watched the blond Get Backer fall down to the floor and land on his side, his breathing hard and his chest heaving up and down with the failed effort. "From now on, I'll make sure you don't feel left out."

He charged towards Ginji. Before he could hurl a dagger at Ginji, Ban suddenly appeared in front of him, catching the Dark Fleet agent's wrist once again.

"Not so fast, Frosty," Ban said, smirking. "You still have me to deal with."

Shimo responded with a smirk of his own, saying, "Ice cocoon." His blade turned blue again.

Before Ban could react, he found himself trapped in a hard ice airtight cocoon-like enclosure.

_Dammit_, he thought as he now understood Shimo's last utterance.

The tight cocoon prevented him from making any movement. For people with normal strength, there was no way to get out of it, and the lack of air would rapidly turn it into an icy coffin. But Mido Ban was not someone with normal strength. With a fierce yell, he broke out of the cocoon, shattering it into a million tiny icy pieces.

Shimo knew full well that the ice cocoon would not be enough to stop Mido Ban, but it was enough to delay him as he took care of the other retriever. So even though Ban broke out of the icy enclosure, he smiled. There was nothing the dark-haired retriever could do as a streak of ice was already hurtling through the air towards Ginji, who could not move away and had no other choice but to just grimace as he braced himself for the attack.

Ban cursed under his breath, frustrated as he realized that he would not be able to get to his partner in time.

Suddenly, a black blur appeared in front of Ginji, and the streak of ice that was shooting rapidly towards him was met with two crisscrossed daggers, whose flaming blades quickly dissipated Shimo's icy attack.

Ban, Ginji, and even Shimo watched in surprise as the flames extinguished into the blades, their edges turning from red to its original black color. And then there was silence.

Finally, in a soft voice, Shimo said, "Iarra."

She stood there for what seemed like a long time, unmoving, her head down as her hands gripped her black daggers tightly in front of her. Finally, slowly, she looked up and gazed steadily into those ice blue eyes.

"Hello, Shimo. It's been a while."

* * *

A/N: This chapter's title "Agitato" is another musical term in Italian that literally means "agitated". I thought it was a appropriate since everybody is pretty much agitated at this point.. And... I'm finding it hard to find a better title.

Wow, I've updated within a week! This is a record for a slowpoke like me. This fic really has been longer than I thought it would be. I'm trying not to drag it along, but man... every time I write a scene, it turns out to be 2000+ words. Dang. Makes me think of writing a one-shot to make up for it. Anyway, I hope you're still enjoying it.


	12. Con Fuoco : Shimo vs Iarra

Disclaimer: Things haven't changed. I still don't own GB.

* * *

**XII. Con Fuoco : Shimo vs Iarra**

_It was one of those moonless nights. Berthed at the dock was a massive yacht, the sleek lines of its exterior evoking elegance in its design. On its starboard bow was the word _'Pristine'_ inscribed in cursive letters._

_The behemoth was not idle. Several workers scurried around its aft loading bay area. Some were pushing carts filled with crates, while some stood on guard and made sure that there would be no interruptions to the ship's unloading schedule. A few trucks were parked near the docks with their trailers wide open as they received this day's shipment._

_A short distance away, up on a hill overlooking the dock was Iarra. She was in her Dark Fleet black jumpsuit, black beads embedded in her hair which was neatly tied up in a bun. She watched the activity below her, her dark brown eyes scouring the area for any possible disruptions._

They should be done soon_, she thought._

_"That's the last of the shipment," the figure beside her said, as if echoing her thoughts. The waves of his silvery hair glimmered even in the faint light that was being emitted from the ship's lights. "We should get ready to board."_

_He turned around and started making his way towards the trail down the hill. She stayed where she was._

_"Shimo," Iarra said, her eyes still directed at the dock. "I won't be coming back to the ship with you."_

_Shimo stopped. He turned around to look at her, puzzled. "Why not?"_

_"I've been given a new assignment," she replied. She paused, then turned her head to look at him. "I'm off to China tomorrow."_

_"China?," he repeated. "For how long?"_

_"A long time."_

_"Like months? Years?"_

_"I don't know."_

_Shimo stared at her for a while, then asked, "Is it with the Triad? Or the Burning Dragons?"_

_Iarra smiled. "You know I can't tell you that." She turned her head back to the dock, then added, "Even if I knew."_

_Shimo took a few steps forward to stand beside her again. "Sounds like a big job," he said as he stared at the workers down below._

_They stood there in silence, watching as the workers wrapped up for the evening._

_"Are you able to keep in contact?", he asked, breaking the silence._

_"I don't know if I'm allowed to have contact with people that are not part of the mission." She looked at him and smiled. "But I will try."_

_There was a pause again as they both watched the trucks below fire up their engines, their headlights illuminating the dirt road that they would be taking soon. A gentle breeze blew in, pushing Shimo's wavy locks away from his face._

_Quietly, he said, "So this is it, then?"_

_"I guess so," Iarra replied._

_He looked at her. "We might not see each other again."_

_"That's possible."_

_A bright light flashed twice from the Pristine's taffrail, catching the attention of the two agents._

_"It's time for me to go," Shimo said._

_"Yes, it is," Iarra said with a sigh._

_Shimo took one last look at her, smiled, then held out his hand. "It was a pleasure working with you."_

_Iarra smiled as well as she shook his hand, clasping his hand tightly with hers. "Likewise."_

* * *

"Iarra-chan," Amano Ginji said, his eyes gratefully looking up at the dark figure in front of him.

Maintaining her position, Iarra flicked her eyes down to where the blond retriever was lying on the floor. "Ginji," she said in acknowledgment, the corners of her lips turning up into a slight smile. Her face turned serious again as she turned back to the silver-haired Dark Fleet agent in front of her.

"It IS you," the agent said, almost breathless, as he stared at her with his mouth open. Slowly, he lowered his daggers to his side. "I searched all over for you after I heard about what happened. I thought you were dead."

_That's just like you_, she told him silently, her dark brown eyes softening as she looked back once again at those very familiar ice blue ones. There were so many questions that she knew he had - questions that she wasn't really prepared to answer.

"Shimo," was all that she could manage to utter as she lowered her own weapons.

"And here you are," Shimo continued, a hint of sadness in his eyes. "... alive and well."

"You sound disappointed."

"Indeed, I am," Shimo replied.

She looked back at him, a slight pain in her eyes at his words.

"I'm disappointed that you didn't so much as contact me to let me know what happened to you," Shimo continued. "You just vanished into thin air."

"She's actually very good at that," Mido Ban cut in.

Shimo looked at the dark-haired retriever, whose interruption seemed to have brought him back to the present. He looked back at Iarra, antagonism now back in those ice blue eyes.

Iarra's eyes hardened as well. Maybe one day, they could have a proper conversation. Right now, she had a job to do.

"So you're friends with the Get Backers now?", Shimo asked her.

The question caught her off-guard. Her eyes flicked towards Ban, who looked like he was curious to hear what she would answer to that.

"S..Sort of...," she stammered, a slight frown on her face. "I.. I guess."

"You guess," Shimo repeated. "Well, are you or are you not?"

Well, they certainly were not her enemies. She glanced at Ginji, who was looking at her expectantly with his big brown eyes, waiting for her reply. _Dammit, I'll probably regret this._ She took a deep breath, then looked straight at Shimo. More firmly this time, she answered, "Yes."

Ban had an eyebrow raised, an expression of amusement on his face that asked her 'Really?'.

She shot him a look that said 'Shut up', which amused him all the more. _Yep, I regret it._

"I see," Shimo said, softly.

Iarra watched him as he closed his eyes and shook his head slowly, his silvery hair glistening with the motion. She could just imagine the thoughts that were probably going through his head. She cursed silently. This was not the way she wanted their next encounter to be.

Finally, he looked at her and said, "You do know that I'm going to have to fight you."

"No, you don't," Iarra said. "If you just give them the ring, then we don't have to fight."

He just snickered in reply. He then turned serious. "You should consider yourself fortunate. Back in the day, you would not have been able to escape from the Silver Claw after turning your back on the Fleet."

She just looked back at him, with no sign of emotion on her face. "The Silver Claw is now out of commission and should no longer be a concern."

"Yes, things have changed, haven't they?" He flipped his daggers. He held one in front of him, its blade pointed at her, saying, "You should not have come back." His daggers then started glowing blue.

Yes, right now, they were enemies; and Shimo's stance assured her that he was well aware of that. She responded by taking one step forward, her own daggers glowing red and positioned in front of her. She looked straight into his eyes, which were now looking back at her coldly and unflinchingly. She took a deep breath and moved her arm back, ready to throw her dagger.

"Hold it!"

They stopped and looked at the source of the interruption, which turned out to be a chibi-sized Mido Ban. He scurried to where Ginji was sprawled on the floor just behind Iarra. Taking Ginji's arms and placing them over his shoulders, he proceeded to carry his partner.

Ginji immediately turned into his tare form, saying "Eh?" as he found himself riding on Ban's back, piggy-back style.

"Don't mind us," Ban said. "We're just getting out of your way."

Iarra and Shimo stood frozen in their battle stances, their eyes following the now super deformed version of the Get Backers as they made their way towards one of the fallen steel racks at the far end of the room. After plopping Ginji down on the floor to let him lean against the steel frame, Ban made himself comfortable, using the same steel frame as his makeshift bench. He then turned back into his normal form as he lit a cigarette with the lighter that he pulled out from his tux pocket. He inhaled his first puff, then stopped as he felt all eyes on him.

He smirked, then waved at Iarra and Shimo to continue, "Carry on. You two seem to have some unfinished business to deal with. We won't interrupt." He took another drag, then looked at Iarra. "Unless you can't handle it."

"Oh, I can handle it, alright," Iarra spat back, glaring at him.

"Okay, then. Go on and beat him already so we can get this over with."

Iarra gave him another irritated glare.

Ginji, on the other hand, had somehow found two fans that he now held in his little chibi hands. He held them both up, cheering, "Go Iarra-chan!"

Iarra and Shimo blinked at him.

After a long pause, Shimo remarked, "Your new friends are interesting."

"That's... a polite way of saying it," Iarra muttered.

Shimo then turned back to her, his face turning serious once again. "Now back to the matter at hand... I don't suppose you would consider surrendering?" His blades started glowing again in their bluish hue.

Iarra looked at his glowing blades, then shook her head as she replied, "I'm sorry, Shimo." Her own blades started glowing red.

"It was worth a try," Shimo said, shrugging slightly. He eyed her weapons, then said, "Let me know if you change your mind."

"Sure," she said unconvincingly.

Shimo attacked first, sending an ice shaft towards her from the tip of his dagger. The ice was quickly dissipated by the flames on Iarra's black blades. She threw one of her flaming daggers towards Shimo, who jumped high up and flipped backwards to avoid it. While in the air, he sent his weapon flying towards her. She responded by rolling to the side while hurling another flaming dagger at him.

Shimo's other weapon flew to his hand as he landed. He then crossed both of his blades at his chest, and a wall of ice suddenly appeared in front of him, shielding him as Iarra's dagger pierced it instead. The black dagger shook as Iarra summoned it, but Shimo attacked her again before it could break free. She gave up on getting her black dagger back and just focused on evading the sharp streaks of ice that were now hurtling towards her.

Ginji watched in anxiety as Iarra ran, ducked, and rolled in her efforts to avoid being hit by the continuous barrage of ice streaks that Shimo was sending her way.

"Ban-chan," he said to his partner, as tendrils of electricity started to lace around his fingers.

"Mmm?", Ban said, his cigarette dangling in his mouth.

"Shouldn't we be helping her? I think I can make one more blast now."

"Save it for later," was Ban's reply.

Ginji looked up at his partner, his big brown eyes pleading, "But..."

"She doesn't need our help."

Ginji looked back at the fight, his brows still furrowed in concern.

Ban flicked his eyes down at his partner, then held his cigarette between his fingers as he exhaled. "I've fought with both of them, remember?"

Ginji looked back up at Ban, then smiled as he felt reassured by his partner's calm demeanor. "So Iarra-chan's better, right Ban-chan?"

Ban took another puff on his cigarette, then simply replied with, "Frosty didn't even graze me."

Iarra now had one of her silver daggers in her right hand, the remaining black dagger in the other. She charged at Shimo, thrusting her silver dagger in the direction of his chest. He parried it with his weapon, and Iarra followed it up quickly with her black dagger, slashing across his neck. Shimo blocked it again, and both blades glowed as they made contact. They looked straight into each other's eyes as their blades pushed against each other.

Shimo suddenly flicked his wrist, and an ice streak flew from the tip of his dagger straight towards Iarra's chest. She twisted her body to avoid it while quickly flipping her black dagger in an underhanded grip. With the blade now protecting her left forearm, she moved her arm up, blocking Shimo's ice streak.

As she stepped backwards, however, she noticed that she was not able to successfully block all of it. She grimaced as she felt pain on her left arm and shoulder, where little fragments of ice had embedded themselves into.

Ginji looked back up at Ban, uncertainty creeping back into his big brown eyes. "Ban-chan?", he said.

Ban was looking intently at the two fighters, his cigarette dangling in his mouth. "She's holding back," he muttered. "The idiot."

Shimo charged at Iarra and attacked with greater force, lunging and slashing at her with his daggers. Iarra had no choice but to carry out a series of defensive maneuvers. She blocked his attacks, but found herself having to keep stepping backwards to protect herself from his onslaught.

"What are you doing, Dagger Babe?", Ban muttered again as he watched intently. "You can do better than that."

Iarra soon found herself in a corner, no longer able to take another step backwards. Shimo noticed it as well, and did not waste time in taking advantage of it. With one quick movement, he lifted both of his daggers and sent several fragments of razor-sharp ice onto her direction.

"Iarra-chan!," Ginji gasped.

She suddenly disappeared, and the shards of ice hit the cornered wall right behind where she had been. She quickly reappeared behind Shimo, lashing at his shoulder with her silver dagger.

He ducked and pivoted with his right foot to get out of the way. Iarra did not let up, taking the offensive this time. She delivered slash after slash, and Shimo was now the one having to ward off her attacks.

A satisfied smirk appeared on Ban's face as he exhaled some smoke from his cigarette. "Now that's what I'm talkin' about."

With a sweeping stroke, Iarra lashed at Shimo's throat. He leaned back, and just narrowly avoided her blade. Before he could stand upright again, Iarra flipped her weapons then struck him hard on the chest with the pommels of her daggers. He groaned as he dropped down to the ground, his face crunched up in pain. He rolled away from her, stopping some distance away with his hands and knees on the floor. He coughed, spitting out a few drops of blood. He glared at her.

Iarra saw the blood, but just looked back at him steadily as she holstered her silver dagger and lifted her hand up. Soon, her other black dagger freed itself from the wall of ice that was holding it captive. As it flew into her hand, she took another step forward in a tiger riding stance. Flames started to dance around her blades as she pointed them at Shimo.

He had never seen her use that style before, Shimo thought as he narrowed his eyes. It wasn't just the style, though, that Shimo found different. It was as if a shift inside of her had occurred, and he now found himself looking back into the eyes of a stranger.

She lunged at him again, her blades glowing red. He rolled again, but this time, he stood up on his feet and met her attacks with his daggers, which were now glowing blue. The next scene was a flurry of attacks and counterattacks, red against blue, fire against ice. All that Ban and Ginji could hear were the sounds of cracking ice, bursting flames, and the harsh metallic sound of blades clashing.

She was now fighting differently, as if with a viciousness that had been asleep but had now been awakened. It was all Shimo could do to defend himself from her assault.

Shimo dropped from the air and landed at the far side of the room. He now had several cuts and slashes on his upper body and on his arms. He faced Iarra, his blue eyes directed coldly at her. "I see that you've learned some things in China."

Instead of answering, she tossed her right dagger toward her left hand. She lifted her left hand up, which now held both of her black daggers, their handles being gripped between her fingers. As she pointed the tips of her blades to the ceiling, the blades started glowing red. With one arcing motion, she threw them both at Shimo while she charged at him.

Shimo was able to block the blades. He was just about to make his next move when Iarra suddenly appeared behind him and gave him a hard kick on the knees, making them buckle underneath him. Before he even fell to the floor, she had already twirled around and struck the side of his head with a back-fist. He dropped down, then groaned as his cheek hit the hard floor.

It was a hard blow. He rolled to his back with great effort, grunting in pain. As he tried to get his bearings, he saw Iarra leap into the air while summoning her daggers. She began to swoop down on him with her dagger in an underhanded grip, aiming the weapon straight at his chest.

It was then that he realized that he would not be able to move away in time.

He smiled and closed his eyes. It was a fate that he knew should not come as a surprise in his line of work. It was just unexpected that he would meet it at the hands of a former comrade.

He felt the tip of her dagger pierce through his skin, but that was as far as it went. Slowly, he opened his eyes and looked up at his opponent, curious to know what caused her to stop.

She was crouching over him, unmoving as she stared back at him. Her face was devoid of expression, as if she was trying very hard to conceal what was going on inside of her. Her chest, however, heaved with her labored breathing; and her hand shook with tension as it clenched tightly around the handle of the dagger that was pointed at his chest.

Finally, she stood up and took a few steps backwards, her head turning away from Shimo. She stared at the wall at the far side of the room, her hands still gripping the handles of her daggers tightly.

Shimo slowly sat up, his hand going up to his chest where Iarra had pierced him. He gazed at her, his former colleague, his former friend. Since the time that they said farewell to each other, he had always hoped that their paths would cross again, but he had never imagined that it would be as enemies.

"Iarra," he said softly.

She looked back at him, her eyes betraying her internal conflict.

"You should not have stopped," he said.

Before she could react, he aimed his dagger and sent a flying streak of ice towards Iarra. She stood frozen in the middle of the warehouse, her body now completely encased in solid ice. She did not expect his sudden attack, and this error had caused her to be trapped in Shimo's ice cocoon.

Shimo loooked over at the Get Backers. The dark-haired retriever had stood up, forgetting about his cigarette that had dropped to the floor; the blond one remained in his sitting position. Both of them had their mouths agape at the fight's unexpected turn.

Their shock did not last long. Soon, electricity started to sizzle around Ginji's body as he glared at Shimo. Ban also had his eyes narrowed at the Dark Fleet agent, his right hand clenching into a claw.

Shimo did not give them an opportunity to attack, however. He crossed his daggers in front of him, and a rushing wind came, creating a long and wide ice wall that separated him from the retrievers.

* * *

A/N: This chapter's title "con fuoco" is a musical directive that literally means "with fire." Yes, I chose it because this chapter uses fire. And yes, I'm running out of ideas for chapter titles. And yes, I realize that I've been inconsistent with my chapter titles. I may fix that once I'm done with the rest of the story. Or I may not.

Sorry if this chapter was a little OC-centric. I couldn't quite get around it since I felt that the fight had to happen. The title should've given you a clue, though :)

To Belanciequ: Thanks for the encouragement :)

To The Spider's Parlor (a.k.a. "Ginji fangirl"). Wow, you wrote a long review! I'll be responding point-by-point below:

I think I understand what you mean with not quite warming up to it the same way as the Silver Claw. I admit that the story did start out slow. I blame that on not writing for a very long time hehe. I think I've gotten the hang of it again, so the next chapters should be better. Thank you for sticking around!

Yes, Ginji... Sorry he hasn't really played a big part in the story yet. But, I did plan something for him in the next chapters. Your comment is noted though, and I will try my best to make him more prominent.

Love your idea on what happened to Iarra. I have some varying ideas on what could've happened (yours is actually pretty close to one of them), but I haven't really decided on that at this point. I think I'm gonna go with something completely different, now that you've thought of something similar hehehe. For now, feel free to speculate :) And oh... you have a sketchbook? Can I see? Can I? Can I?

LOL on your first comment on the villains. Thank you! I took into account somebody's review on the SC about Gitsu there being a bit hollow, so I'm glad I've improved on that.

Romance... Ahh.. Yes, it's a very tricky subject. I do agree that it might just take away from the story. So yeah, you'll be happy to know that it's not something that I will focus on in this fic. A romance fic, this is not.

Fight scenes. I think I know what you mean. Again, I admit that I didn't spend a lot of time on the fight scenes as I was thinking it might be too much detail for readers. I imagine them thinking, "Can't you just get to the story, Mayumi-san?", so I rushed it a bit. But since you're living proof that people do enjoy fight scenes, I tried my best to improve it in this chapter. Was it better? Or too much?

And I have... *gasp*... syntax errors? Where? No, I don't have a beta, so yeah, I know that it's quite possible (even though it's improbable) that I may have overlooked some things. Just kidding :) Again, that might be attributed to me rushing things. I want to finish this fic first, so I may or may not fix them when I'm done. I hope I don't have any more on this chapter.

On your parting note... All I can say is you'll see, my friend. You'll see :)

My parting note: Your feedback helped me out a lot. THANK YOU!

- Ban fangirl


	13. Ritardando

Disclaimer: You know what goes here, right? Just in case you don't, here it is... I don't own GB.

* * *

**XIII. Ritardando**

Mido Ban charged at one section of the ice wall and struck it hard. Several cracks appeared, but the wall continued to stand in defiance. He gave it one more blow, and the cracked section finally submitted, breaking into several fragments. He ran through the crushed ice, fists clenched and ready for the Dark Fleet agent.

Shimo gave him one last look before disappearing behind one of the doors in the room. Ban was tempted to run after him, but stopped as he looked at the case of solid ice that had entrapped Iarra. Based on his earlier experience, he knew that the lack of oxygen in that ice prison could be fatal if she didn't get out soon.

He glared one more time at the door where Shimo disappeared to, then quickly made his decision. Another fight with the Dark Fleet agent could wait. He ran towards the ice cocoon with a look of determination on his face.

The dark outline of Iarra's form was visible through the solid ice. He stopped in front of the cocoon and quickly scanned its walls in an effort to find out how he could somehow crack it open.

Getting out was something he had just discovered how to do, but getting somebody else out was a different matter. He knew that the body could survive for only three minutes without air, so he had to do something - anything - very quickly. He was about to hit it when he noticed a red glow emanating from within the cocoon. He stepped back, unsure of what was happening.

The glow seemed to be coming from Iarra's daggers. Soon, the whole cocoon glowed red, its icy walls diffusing the light from her blades.

The opening in the ice wall that Ban had created allowed his partner to see what was happening. Wanting to help out as much as he could, Amano Ginji struggled to stand up, his arm leaning against the fallen steel rack that served as his support. He watched as steam rose from the cocoon, and water from the melting ice started to flow down its sides.

They both heard a crack, then another. Soon, several more cracks appeared on the walls of the cocoon, weakening its structure until finally, Iarra was able to burst out, its walls becoming a crumbling heap at her feet. She dropped to her knees, shivering and gasping for breath as her blades turned back into their original black color.

"You ok?"

She turned to the source of the sound and found herself looking up into the bright blue eyes of Mido Ban. "I'm fine," she said, still panting. "We need to go before they..."

The door that Shimo used as his exit suddenly opened and in came several more Dark Fleet agents.

"...come," she said, opting to unnecessarily finish her sentence.

"Iarra-chan! Ban-chan!", Ginji yelled out. He was now standing up, and veins of electricity had already started to dance around his body. "Look out!"

Lightning flashed out from his palm toward the Dark Fleet agents. They stepped back, and the unfortunate ones that were in the line of fire fell down on the floor.

Ban quickly scooped Iarra up, then sped through the opening in the ice wall towards the direction of the spyway entrance. "Let's go, Ginji!"

Ginji nodded. Before he started running, however, he sent a plasma ball towards one of the nearby boxes that had toppled over during Ban and Shimo's fight - the one that contained some kind of gray powder.

A brilliant white light suddenly filled the room as the box exploded, making the Dark Fleet agents duck for cover. When the dust and debris had settled, the agents slowly stood up, shaken yet determined to capture the intruders - if they could only find them.

* * *

It was pitch black. From the other side of the wall, they could hear the muffled sounds of Dark Fleet agents trying to extinguish the fire in the room; on this side of the wall, all they could hear was the sound of Iarra's heavy breathing.

Before long, the breathing slowed down. There was silence for a good minute or two, then a shuffling sound, then silence again. Soon, a dim blue light started to glow from Iarra's hand. She was sitting on the floor with her back to the wall, her legs pressed up against her chest.

Ginji sat cross-legged on the floor to her right, his back resting on the opposite wall. He watched her as she wedged the glowing bead in between the patterns of the hilt of her silver dagger, which was holstered at her right hip. His eyes moved over to her left arm, which was wrapped tightly around her legs, and saw that it was covered in small cuts. He also noticed that she was shivering, as she was still damp from the melted ice cocoon that she had just escaped from.

Ginji took off his tux jacket and handed it to her. "Here," he said.

Iarra looked at the jacket, which had a few rips and tears from Ginji's earlier encounter with the Dark Fleet agents when he first got captured. She gave Ginji a questioning look.

"You look cold," he told her.

"Oh," she said in understanding. She hesitated, then decided to accept the offer. "Thanks." As she proceeded to slide her arms through the sleeves, she asked him, "How are you holding up?"

"Not too bad," he replied. "I'm just a little light-headed, but I'm okay."

The sleeves of Ginji's jacket were a little too long for her arms, so she started to roll them up when Ginji added, "A little fresh air would be nice, though."

"Yeah," she agreed. "It _is_ a little cramped in here."

"You don't say," Ban muttered. He was standing next to Ginji with his arms crossed, his right shoulder leaning against the wall.

Iarra ignored his comment as she turned back to Ginji. "Well, the only spots I can think of are on the upper decks."

"Where we can be in plain sight," Ban interrupted. "Can't say that's typically your style there, Dagger Babe."

"So you're an expert in my style now?", Iarra snapped at him.

Ban smiled at the retort, which indicated that she was somewhat back to normal. "Well," he then asked her. "Do you want to go to the upper decks?"

Iarra glared at him for a long time before muttering, "No."

Ban grinned triumphantly and gave her a smug I-told-you-so look.

"Do you know if there are other spots here?", Ginji asked her.

She mentally explored the different areas of the ship, and her eyes drifted away from the retrievers as she attempted to find a suitable answer to his question.

Ban said, "I thought you knew this ship like the back of your hand."

"I do," she said as she gave him another irritated look.

Ban continued to press. "Well?"

"Just shut up and let me think."

"That's no way to talk to your FRIENDS," Ban said, grinning at the opportunity to irk her about her answer to Shimo's question.

She sighed, closing her eyes in exasperation. "You're not gonna let that one go, are you?"

"Nope," he replied, still grinning.

"I knew that was a mistake," she muttered.

"What was a mistake?", Ginji asked.

"Nothing," Iarra answered him. Very quickly, she mumbled under her breath, "Just a hole that I dug up for myself." Loudly, she told him, "Let me just focus on where we can get you some fresh air."

"Okay," Ginji said while Ban chuckled. Ginji just looked back at his partner with a confused look.

There was silence for a bit as Iarra stared at the wall again, thinking.

"Well..." she said finally. "There is one place..." She paused, then said more confidently, "Yeah, they would probably never guess if we're in there." She turned to Ginji. "Can you stand up?"

Ginji took a deep breath as if to muster his strength. He leaned forward, and his face scrunched up as he attempted to stand. He then exhaled loudly, his shoulders slumping. "I guess I can't. I'm sorry I'm still too weak."

Iarra leaned towards him, then knelt down next to him to take a closer look. "You might still be under the effects of the sedative." She reached over and held his chin in her left hand, turning it up so she could peer into his eyes. She then pulled out her right dagger in an underhanded grip.

"Whoa," Ban protested as he uncrossed his arms. "What are you doing?"

"Relax," she told him. "I just want to take a closer look."

Ban frowned. "You need your dagger to take a closer look?", he asked suspiciously.

She smiled at him slyly, amused at his paranoia. "I need some light. It's kinda dark in here."

She then moved the handle, which held the glowing bead, towards Ginji's eyes. She moved her head closer to inspect his pupils. "Yeah, just as I thought," she murmured. "I'm surprised you were still able to throw some pretty strong attacks back there."

Ginji blinked as Iarra released her hold on his chin. "What do you mean?"

"When they captured you, they injected some sedatives into your system to weaken you," she explained. "That, plus the fact that they put you in the ESD room... It's amazing that you were able to recover that quickly to even fight back."

"That's an electric eel for you," Ban said.

She put her silver dagger back back into its holster. "Interesting." She then pulled out a smaller dagger from her boot. She was about to move it toward Ginji's neck when Ban's hand suddenly appeared and grasped her wrist.

"There's no mistaking what you're about to do, so don't even deny it," Ban barked at her.

Iarra smirked. "What do you think am I about to do?"

"Gee, I don't know. Slice his neck?"

She chuckled. "I guess you could say that, but it's not for the reason that you think."

"I don't think there are any good reasons for anybody's neck to be sliced by somebody, especially if that somebody is you."

She sighed, then turned to the blond retriever. "Ginji, do you want the antidote for the sedative?"

Ginji looked at her, then at his partner, then back at her. "That means you're gonna have to cut me, right?"

"Yes," she replied. "It's just a little cut, so don't worry."

"I understand," Ginji said, then smiled at his partner reassuringly. "It's okay, Ban-chan. I don't mind."

"You heard him," Iarra said as she looked at Ban, who still had his eyes narrowed at her in suspicion. "Well, it's either that, or we wait here for a few hours for him to fully recover." She emphasized the word 'hours', and she noticed Ban scowl to her satisfaction. She looked at her captured wrist pointedly, then gave Ban an expectant look that said 'Well?'.

Ban grudgingly released his hold on Iarra's wrist, shaking his head as he did so. "You're too trusting, do you know that?", he told his partner as he reverted back to his previous position, with his arms crossed and his right shoulder leaning against the wall.

Ginji chuckled. "And you're too paranoid. She's our friend, remember?"

Ban's scowl grew deeper, and Iarra couldn't help but smile in amusement. She then started to move her dagger closer to Ginji's neck.

"Are you sure you don't have any nasty stuff in that dagger?", Ban asked.

"Yes, I'm sure I don't have any nasty stuff in this dagger," Iarra replied exasperatedly.

"So how come you used a different dagger on me when you gave me the antidote?"

"Because," she said with a sigh. "I couldn't be too obvious about what I was doing. I had to put the antidote into my usual dagger. Now can you just be quiet and let me work?" She moved the weapon again to Ginji's neck.

"You better not cut his jugular," Ban warned.

Iarra rolled her eyes.

She was about to press the tip of her blade to Ginji's neck, when Ban added, "Remember, not too deep."

She scowled in annoyance, but just continued to trace a line along the blond's neck just below his right jaw. Soon, blood started to trickle down.

"That's enough. How long of a cut do you need?"

"Sheesh," Iarra said in frustration. "Relax, overprotective Mother Bear." She then leaned back and, with the tip of her dagger, pointed to the small cut that she had just made, then smiled, "See? Papercut."

Ban said wryly, "I would really love to see the kind of paper that would make a cut like that".

"Oh, it's quite nice," she said sarcastically as she put the small dagger back into her boot. She then took a bead from the left side of her bodice. "Especially for origami, if you're into that. I can show you sometime, and we can make little urchin heads with big mouths that annoy the hell out of you."

"You like origami, Iarra-chan?", Ginji asked.

Iarra almost laughed out loud, thinking that the question was a joke. She stopped when she saw the sincere expression in Ginji's eyes. "Ummm," she started to say. She moved her right hand over Ginji's cut and squeezed the bead. As drops of clear liquid fell into the wound, she answered, "I've tried it, but I can't say that paper folding is my expertise."

"Urchin heads may be way beyond your level, then," Ban said with smirk.

She smirked back. "We can find out, if you're up for it."

"I'm up for it," Ginji chimed in enthusiastically, turning his big brown eyes to his partner. "I'd like to give it a try sometime, Ban-chan."

Ban stared at the blond for a while, unsure of how to respond. The doofus was actually serious.

"Sure," Ban finally said. "Sometime." _Or never_, he thought.

The image of the Get Backers trying out the art of paper folding brought chuckles to Iarra, which earned her a glare from the dark-haired half of the retrieval duo.

"That'll be fun!," Ginji said, his face lighting up. "I'm looking forward to it."

"This is your fault," Ban muttered to Iarra.

She gave him an innocent look that asked, 'Who me?'.

* * *

Iarra led the way with the blue glow from her bead illuminating their path. The bottom part of Ginji's tux jacket had to be tucked behind her right holster in order for the light from her bead to show through. Following her were the Get Backers, who unfortunately still had to walk sideways as their shoulders were too broad for the narrow corridor that they were in.

"So," Iarra said, breaking the silence. "Back at the warehouse... How did you know that was magnesium, Ginji?"

Ginji, who had just gained enough strength to be able to walk, was right behind her. He blinked at the question, a blank look on his face. "Magni-what?"

"So that was magnesium powder, huh," Ban, who was at the rear, said.

Ginji turned his head and gave his partner a confused look.

"Magnesium," Ban explained, "It's a highly flammable metal and is easy to ignite when in powdered form. You aimed right at the box that was loaded with that stuff."

"Oh," Ginji said, a look of understanding finally on his face as he turned back to Iarra. "Well, there was some gray powder close to where we sat down, and I noticed some sparks appear when Ban-chan's cigarette fell to the floor. I figured the box where it came from should have more of it, so that's where I aimed."

"Good call," Iarra said, nodding in approval.

They soon reached the end of the corridor. Looking forward past his partner, Ban saw more steel rungs on the wall, similar to the ones that he and Iarra had used to come up to this deck level. Iarra held on to one of the rungs, then proceeded to climb down, her small frame easily fitting through the hole on the floor.

Ginji stepped forward then looked down the hole, seeing the top of Iarra's head as she descended. Since he wasn't exactly in tiptop shape, the thought of his foot slipping from the rungs and him landing on Iarra crossed his mind. He decided to wait until she got off before he started.

When her feet finally touched the bottommost floor, she looked up and motioned for Ginji to follow suit. He nodded, then reached over to hold on to one of the steel rungs. He moved his foot through the hole, letting it land on another one of the rungs. After deciding that his foot was secure, he shifted his weight.

_This isn't so bad_, Ginji thought as he looked down. The light from Iarra's bead was dim, but he was able to make out where the next rung was. He lowered his other foot until it landed on the rung. The opening of the hole was now at his hips.

Since he was pretty much filling up the hole, he couldn't look down. He tried to lower his foot, but soon realized that his hips were having a hard time slipping through. With a bit of an effort, he managed to squeeze his hips in by moving them around in small twisting motions.

_This is not gonna go well_, Ban thought as he watched his partner struggle.

Ginji tried feeling around for the next rung as he lowered his foot again. When he found it, he made sure that he had a secure foothold before shifting his weight. This time, the opening of the hole was now at his chest. He tried lowering his other foot again, but found that he couldn't squeeze his shoulders in. He frowned. He lifted both his arms, hoping to make his upper body narrower, then tried pushing himself down.

His torso slid in a few more inches, but that was as far as he went. He shifted his weight to the balls of his feet, which were both resting lightly on a single rung. He then tried raising his upper body to perhaps change his position, but found out that he couldn't.

Ginji groaned. "Ban-chan?"

"What?"

"I'm stuck."

"I figured," Ban said. He himself did not have an easy time going through the hole that he and Iarra climbed up to get to this particular deck level. It shouldn't come as a surprise that Ginji's wider frame presented a bit of a problem.

Ban walked closer to his partner, who was resting his arms dejectedly on the floor.

"Raise your arms," Ban told him. "Let me try something."

Ginji did as he was told. Ban then knelt down, placed his hands over his partner's shoulders, and pushed down. Ginji didn't budge. Ban tried putting one foot on Ginji's shoulder, then pushed again, groaning with the effort. Still nothing. Ban tried a variety of different positions, but still to no avail.

Iarra, who had expected the retrievers to be right behind her, stopped when she heard the sound of grunts and moans.

"Push, Ginji," Ban's muffled voice said. "You can't have me doing all the work here."

The next thing she heard was a wail. "I'm pushing, Ban-chan!"

"Well, push harder!"

And then she heard another grunt.

"I can't! The hole's too small."

"Let's try a different position... How about this? Does that hurt?"

And more grunts.

_What on earth...?_, she thought.

Cautiously, she walked back to the rungs and looked up. She frowned as she saw Ginji's legs dangling through the hole.

"What in the world are you two doing?", she blurted out. "You guys sounded like you were either constipating or..." She paused. "... doing something else."

"Iarra-chan!," Ginji exclaimed. "I'm stuck."

"Oh, great," she muttered.

"I'm just gonna have to break the floor to make the hole wider," she heard Ban say.

"Don't!", she yelled out.

"I had a feeling you would say that," Ban muttered. Loudly, he said, "Why the hell not?"

"These structures are interconnected. I don't know what else you'll break if you try that."

Ban sighed and looked at Ginji, who looked back at him dejectedly.

Ban's eyes suddenly brightened. "I have an idea," he told his partner.

"What, Ban-chan?"

"Turn into that form."

"What form?"

"You know."

Ginji blinked back at him, confused.

Ban paused, then, looking deeply into his partner's eyes, said, "Sorry, but I'm gonna have to do this."

"Do what?," Ginji asked him, still confused.

Instead of replying, Ban called out, "Oi, Dagger Babe!"

"What?", she asked.

"Catch!"

"Huh?", Iarra said, frowning.

Ban then stomped on his partner's blond head, which made Ginji suddenly turned chibi.

Chibi Ginji soon realized that he was now suspended in midair, the edges of the hole no longer confining him. "Ban-chaaaan!", he cried out as he flailed his little arms and legs.

Iarra's eyes widened as the doll-like form of Amano Ginji fell straight down the hole towards her. She instinctively held her arms out, catching the frantic being just in time. She stared at the creature with her mouth wide open.

"Nice catch," Ban said, grinning as he looked down at her.

She looked up at him, her mouth still agape. He smirked at her stunned reaction, then proceeded to climb down himself. Still having an uncomfortable look in her eyes, she stepped back to give Ban some space as he landed.

Ban got off the rungs then turned around to face Iarra, who was still staring at tare Ginji's bead-like eyes.

"Iarra-chan," tare Ginji started to say.

She jumped in surprise, inadvertently throwing the talking doll-like creature to Ban's direction.

"Waaaah!", tare Ginji wailed, flailing his little arms and legs again before being plastered onto Ban's face.

Ban carefully extricated the spikes of his hair from tare Ginji's little clutches. "Dagger Babe," he said as he coolly tucked his partner under his arm. "Are you freaking out?"

"No," Iarra answered quickly, too quickly to be convincing.

Ban grinned, then held tare Ginji up to her. "Most girls think it's cute."

Iarra stared at Ginji again, then flicked her eyes over to Ban, saying, "'Most', not 'all'."

"Well," Ban said, still grinning. "It would've been 'all' if not for this..." He motioned to her. "...statistical anomaly."

She gave him an annoyed look. "I'm just not used to him turning into..." She paused. Finding it difficult to find the right word, she just said, "... THAT." She then turned her back to them and started walking.

"This isn't the first time you've seen him turn into this," he said as he followed her. The size of this particular corridor was more forgiving, so he was able to lift tare Ginji up to ride on his shoulders.

"And I'm still not used to it, so shoot me," was her retort.

"Sure. With what?"

She muttered, "With arrows dipped in sarcasm."

"Sounds good. Where can I get one of those?"

She sighed. "Can we just keep going?"

"I'm sorry, Iarra-chan," tare Ginji said as he held on to his partner's spiky hair. "I can't control it sometimes."

"Don't be sorry, Ginji," she said. "You're just being..." She paused again. Still finding it difficult to find the right word, she continued, "...you."

Ban chuckled again, clearly finding her discomfort amusing.

* * *

They stepped out into a huge room, which seemed more like a huge mess. Much like the warehouse where they had just been, there were rows of steel racks that contained a variety of odds and ends; but unlike the warehouse where they had just been, this room looked more like a junkyard. Aside from being a lot more cluttered, with scraps of metal, discarded bottles, and various other derelict-looking objects scattered all over the floor, this room also had a dank smell which gave it a less-than-inviting feel.

Ban wrinkled his nose as the musty smell of the room wafted up to his sensitive nostrils.

"Ginji, you should've clarified what you meant by 'fresh air'," he said to his partner, who was still riding on his shoulders in tare form. "Our FRIEND here seems to have a different definition."

Iarra ignored him as she gingerly stepped over a huge pile of rusty and worn-out-looking riffraff.

"Iarra-chan," Ginji said, following what he perceived was his partner's request. "I meant flowing air that's not stale that I can breathe in so I can recover more quickly."

She stopped and glared at Ban, who was snickering quietly. She then turned to the chibi version of the blond Get Backer. "Ginji, I know what you meant. Let me just make my way over to the window, okay?"

"Okay," Ginji said, nodding.

She turned back around to continue navigating around the assemblage of junk that littered the floor, stopping only when she reached the center of the room.

"Why don't you two _good friends_ get over here?", Iarra called out to them.

Ban looked at her warily.

"It should be okay, Ban-chan," Ginji said. He jumped down from Ban's shoulders, turning into his normal form as he unhesitatingly made his way around the junk to Iarra's direction.

Ban sighed, then followed close behind. They soon reached the spot where Iarra was, which was the only area in the room that was cleared of clutter.

"Make yourselves comfortable," she told them.

Ban looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "That's gonna be a challenge."

Ginji found a spot on the floor that he decided was good enough. Gingerly, he sat down and crossed his legs. Ban, on the other hand, opted to remain standing. He watched Iarra as she continued moving around the heaps of assorted odds and ends towards the wall at the far side of the room.

"This is an area in the _Pristine_ where they hide valuable smuggled goods when they think they're on the verge of getting caught," Iarra told them. "That..." She pointed to the outline of a large hatchway on the floor close to where Ginji was sitting. "...is a door that opens out into the water. In worst case scenarios, they dump the item down there to avoid getting caught."

"Aahh," Ban said, snickering. "So this is where she takes a dump."

"That's right," Iarra said, smiling in amusement.

"And this is where we're supposed to get fresh air?", Ban asked.

"Patience, my dear friends," Iarra said as she finally reached the wall. "I was just getting to that."

She reached over and unlatched a circular covering on the wall, which opened up to reveal a porthole. A cool breeze blew in, chasing away the musty odor of the room with the refreshing scent of the sea. She watched as Ginji closed his eyes and took a deep rejuvenating breath.

The blond Get Backer opened his eyes, then smiled at her. "Thank you, Iarra-chan. That's just what I need."

"Don't mention it," she replied.

As she turned to look out the window, she found herself subconsciously rubbing her left arm, where cuts from her recent fight hid underneath the sleeve of Ginji's tux jacket. She sighed. She let her eyes drift off to the water outside, its waves sparkling with the light from the full moon.

* * *

_The flame from the short wax candle danced gracefully, its tip flickering against the bottom of a small glass flask. The flask, which was held up by a metal holder, contained some kind of vibrant red liquid._

_"Stay with me, Iarra," a voice said._

_Iarra blinked. The voice was Shimo's, who was looking down at her with concern in his ice blue eyes._

_"It's good that you're blinking," he said to her. "That means your brain isn't frozen yet."_

_Her brain. Yes, she was still thinking very clearly. It was just the rest of her body that had somehow seemed to give in to the sharp coldness that was quickly overpowering her._

_They were heading back to the _Pristine_ after a successful mission at the Port of Shimizu when she had suddenly dropped down to the ground, having lost all feeling in her body. It was Shimo who had picked her up and carried her back as her body temperature rapidly dropped. That was when he had realized that she got hit by one of his ice daggers._

_She was lying down on a cot inside the ship. She didn't think that the several layers of blankets that covered her body up to her chin were of any help. She still felt cold, too frigid to even shiver, if that was even possible; and she couldn't move any part of her body except her eyes, which she used to watch Shimo as he moved around the room, preparing what he said was the antidote._

_He held a hand over her forehead. His hand was pleasantly warm. He took his hand off, too quickly for her liking, then proceeded to roll the blankets down to her chest. He took a closer look at the clean slit on her jumpsuit at the section of her right shoulder._

_"Sorry about this," he said gently as he tore the fabric of her jumpsuit where the slit was, widening the hole and revealing the deep cut on her shoulder._

_He took the small flask then poured a few drops of the red liquid to her wound._

_"That should be good," he told her as he put the flask back to its metal holder on the side table by the cot. He pulled the blankets back up to her chin and smiled at her reassuringly. "Your body temperature should be back to normal soon."_

_She didn't know how long 'soon' was, but it eventually came. Warmth began to creep its way back, slowly recapturing her body from the coldness that had attempted to conquer her. It felt good to be able to feel her body again, she thought as she laid down under the covers and just basked in the sensation._

_As soon as she was able, she turned her head to the corner of the room, to where Shimo was sitting. He was behind a small desk, carefully wiping his blades as the silver waves of his hair covered his face._

_She sat up slowly, and some strands of hair fell loose from her bun, which had become disheveled during the earlier fray. Shimo looked up from cleaning his weapons and saw her look at the cut on her shoulder._

_"I'm glad to see that you've recovered," he said, smiling._

_She tucked the wayward strands of hair behind her ears as she looked back at him. "Thanks, Shimo."_

_"Don't thank me. It was my fault that you got injured."_

_"It wasn't your fault," she said, shaking her head. "Things happen quickly during a fight."_

_He put his dagger down on the desk, stood up, then walked towards her. "You should have told me immediately that you were hit," he said as he sat on the chair next to the cot._

_"I didn't really feel anything so I didn't think it was a big deal."_

_"You would've frozen internally to death."_

_"Oh," she said, then smiled wryly. "That's good to know." Her smile then became sincere. "Thanks for the antidote."_

_Shimo nodded at her in acknowledgment._

_She reached over and took the small flask that was at the side table next to the cot. She took a closer look at the red liquid, then asked him, "What's in it, anyway?"_

_"My blood," he replied._

_Iarra gave him an iffy look. "Seriously?"_

_"Yes," he answered as he held up his palm, showing her the cut that he had just made where he took the blood from. "I've added some Neutralizing Venom to temporarily disable your antibodies so that your body won't fight my blood, plus some antiseptic to clean your wound and to aid in the healing process. I also heated it up so that your body can easily take it in."_

_She looked at his palm, then back at the flask in her hand. "You don't have Hepatitis B or anything like that, do you?"_

_He chuckled. "No."_

_"Good."_

_"You might find it good to know as well," Shimo continued. "... that since my blood is now part of yours, you are now immune to my Ice Sting."_

_"Oh," she said. "That _is_ good."_

_"Good for you, yes," Shimo said, chuckling again. "Bad for me if you suddenly decide to fight me."_

_Iarra smiled at him teasingly. "You still have your other ice attacks. I'm sure you'll put up a good fight."_

_They both laughed as if that was the silliest thing._

* * *

Ginji had closed his eyes again, a satisfied expression on his face as he leaned back against a wooden crate. Deciding to follow his partner's example, Ban sat down next to him and crossed his legs as well. They might be there for a while, so recouping his strength would not be a bad idea.

His blue eyes wandered around the room, taking in the details of the disorder that surrounded them. He could certainly understand why this would be a good place to hide things, as the randomness of the clutter discouraged anyone from taking a closer look.

He let his eyes wander some more, and found them landing on the ex-Dark Fleet agent that was standing by the open porthole. She just stood there, staring outside with a distant look in her eyes.

Ex-Dark Fleet agent, Ban thought. Yes, he no longer had any doubts about that fact. Shimo pretty much confirmed it during their earlier fight.

Iarra felt somebody watching her, so she looked to his direction. Ban, however, had quickly looked away, adjusting his purple glasses as he instead fixed his gaze on some random dilapidated gizmo nearby.

She turned her back to lean against the wall then crossed her arms over her chest. He suspected that her eyes were still on him, so he looked back at her, confirming his suspicion. She just met his gaze coolly. He smirked.

"So," he started to say. "Where'd you disappear to, anyway?"

"What are you talking about?", she asked.

"At the warehouse," Ban said. "You just left after I got Ginji."

Iarra paused, then said calmly, "I didn't."

Ginji opened his eyes and directed them at her. "You were right there?"

She paused again. "Yes." She then sighed, then started to make her way around the junk towards them. "I was hoping he wouldn't know that I was here."

She stopped in front of the retrievers. Since she was now more or less dry, she took off Ginji's jacket, unrolled the sleeves, then handed it back to the blond. "Thanks for this."

"You're welcome," Ginji said, taking the jacket from her and putting it back on himself.

She sat down across from them, wrapped her arms around her legs, then stared at her boot.

"So you really did leave Dark Fleet," Ban said.

"Yes, just as I've been telling you," Iarra said exasperatedly as she looked at him. She sighed again. "Well, I'm glad that you finally realized it."

"Yeah, Shimo turning you into a popsicle kinda hinted that you two aren't on the same side," Ban said as he stood up.

She didn't respond, but just watched him as he navigated around the clutter. When he reached the open window, he took another cigarette from his tux pocket and proceeded to light it.

"Iarra-chan," Ginji said softly, as he remembered the recent fight. "Were you going to kill Shimo?"

She stared at Ginji for a while, then turned to look at her boot once again as if it was the most fascinating thing in the world. Quietly, she murmured, "I almost did, didn't I?"

There was silence for a moment as Ginji looked at her and noticed the expression of sadness on her face that seemed all too familiar for him.

"It's hard for you, isn't it?", he said, breaking the silence.

She looked back at him, not quite sure what he meant.

"Being back in this place," he continued. "... that was so much a part of your past."

She gave him a wry smile. "Well, it's a trip down memory lane that I'd rather not take right now," she said as she turned back to her boot and started to wipe some imaginary dirt off of it.

"Yeah, I know what it's like."

She stopped. She turned her head back to look into those big brown eyes. She had always thought of the blond Get Backer as the happy-go-lucky one, the one whose childlike innocence allowed him to go through life with no worries, whose radiant smile lifted the spirits of everyone around him like the rays of sunshine on a cloudy day.

It had puzzled her how that cohered with what she had heard about the Lightning Emperor, but at that moment as she looked into his eyes, she understood. Behind that sunny disposition were deep scars from a painful past that she could only imagine somebody like the former Lightning Emperor would have.

"It wasn't easy the first time I came back to Mugenjou," Ginji continued, his eyes taking on a faraway look. "There were a lot of questions that went through my mind... Would I see old friends? Would I have to fight them?" He closed his eyes. "Would I turn back into the Lightning Emperor? Would I end up killing someone?"

_Ginji-san!_, a little girl's voice called out in his head.

_Ginji-san!_ This time, it was a little boy.

_Ginji-san! Ginji-san! Ginji-san!_

It was now a cacophony of different voices, each calling out his name, each the familiar sound of a fallen friend that he had failed to help.

The Get Backer that used to be called the Lightning Emperor shook his head in an effort to shake it all away. He took a deep breath, then slowly opened his eyes. Iarra was now looking back at him intently.

"What pushed me on," he said as he turned back to her. "...was knowing that my friends were with me." The corners of his lips turned up into a peaceful smile as he saw each of their faces in his mind. "Kazu-chan, Shido-kun, Himiko-chan..." He paused. "Akabane-san, not so much..", he added with a chuckle. He smiled again, his eyes back to their more familiar cheerful state. "But Ban-chan... I knew that he wouldn't let anything bad happen to me. I knew that he would make sure that I didn't turn back into the Lightning Emperor." His smile grew wider. "I knew everything would be okay."

This was another puzzle about the Get Backers that she was now beginning to understand. When she first met them, she couldn't comprehend how such opposite personalities managed to work together; but in the little amount of time that she had spent with them so far, it was not difficult to see the deep bond that exists between the two. Mido Ban, with all his arrogance and apparent coldness, had shown that he really would do everything he could to keep Amano Ginji from harm; and Amano Ginji would do the same for him.

That was all nice and dandy, but it just made her feel worse. She didn't have anyone that she could count on like that.

The image of Shimo's face surfaced in her mind. She closed her eyes.

The one person that could come close was the person that she had just fought against. And even then, she had tried to keep her distance. As the Silver Claw, it was very important for her not to be attached; and for the most part, it served her well. There were, however, those rare moments when she felt envious of those that shared these deep connections that seemed unbreakable.

This was one of those times.

"Iarra-chan," Ginji said, softly. "We _are_ your friends."

She looked up at him, not quite sure what he was trying to get at.

"Like you told Shimo," Ginji continued. "We're your friends. Just as my friends were with me during that time, we, the Get Backers, are here with you. We won't let anything bad happen to you." He smiled at her again, reassuring her. "Everything's gonna be okay."

Iarra was about to remark on how cheesy that sounded, but stopped as she looked back at Ginji, at the earnest expression in those big brown eyes.

Her eyes flicked over to Ban, who was just calmly looking out the window as he took another drag from his cigarette. There was no smirk, no smart-ass remarks. Just calm. She was sure he heard what Ginji said, but he didn't seem to be disagreeing with his partner. At least not loudly.

She turned back to the blond retriever. "Ginji...", she started to say.

She was interrupted by a soft thud. The look in Ginji's eyes changed and took on a more alert expression as they realized that they were not alone.

Ban had also turned around at the sound, his cigarette still dangling in his mouth.

Ginji slowly stood up, his senses alert and his muscles tense for another possible fight. Iarra followed suit, standing up as well as she gripped the handles of her daggers.

The next thing they heard, which made them all wince, was a loud metallic clang, like a frying pan falling off a high shelf. All three of them looked at the direction of the sound, which was at Ban's right and seemed to come from behind one of the steel racks.

Iarra frowned. "Was that supposed to be intimidating?"

Ban noticed a slight movement close to where the sound came from. He narrowed his eyes. He then dropped his cigarette to the floor and gave Ginji a look that signalled his intentions.

Ginji nodded in acknowledgment.

No need to be subtle this time, Ban thought. With his godlike speed, he charged towards the steel rack for a surprise attack. As soon as he disappeared behind the rack, they heard another thud, then a scuffling sound, then a boy's voice.

"Let me go, you freak!"

"Give it up, kid. You're no match for the Invincible Mido Ban-sama!"

Iarra and Ginji looked at each other, their brows furrowed. Iarra gave him a questioning look, to which Ginji just shrugged.

Pretty soon, Ban appeared, his right hand gripping something from behind the shelf. "Look what I found," he told them.

He stepped further to the left, revealing his quarry. His right hand was clutching the tux collar of a skinny boy that looked like he was in his early teens. Ban pulled him as he made his way around the junk, then pushed him towards the center of the room, making the boy stumble to his knees. He landed right in front of Ginji.

Iarra frowned at the boy, then said, "That's Tomita's assistant."

The boy stared at the floor for a long moment, his shoulders heaving as he breathed heavily. Finally, he looked up, his eyes boring straight into Ginji's.

"Ginji-san," he said, softly.

Ginji frowned.

"Don't you remember me, Ginji-san?"

Now that Ginji had gotten a closer look at Tomita's assistant, his face did seem familiar.

"You saved my life once," the boy continued. "Back in Mugenjou."

Ginji's eyes widened in recognition.

"It's me," the boy said. "Yosuke."

"Yosuke," Ginji breathed out at the same time.

* * *

A/N: There you go. More Ginji for those of you Ginji fangirls.

This chapter's title, "Ritardando", is another musical directive that means that the tempo should be gradually slowing down, which is what is currently happening in the story.

To Atropos' Knife : *gasp* You literally made me gasp when I read your name. I'm soooo happy to hear from you! If I could, I would turn tare and glomp you right now hehehe. How have you been, old friend? I tried sending you a PM, but you have yours disabled.

I did have a longer goodbye scene with Shimo and Iarra in the beginning. Most of it ended up on the cutting room floor (yes, I'm applying that phrase to fanfics). I don't know if that was a good decision, but my main reason for doing it is that I still have some ways to go before I get to the end of this fic, and it has already ballooned to 45,000+ words. I thought it wasn't needed. Oh, well. I hope you like the one in this chapter. I added that for you ;) I think it works out better, actually, since this one's more relevant to the story.

Oh, and I like random useless pieces of information. I'm glad I'm not the only one hehehe.

Thanks for the review. I'm glad to hear you're still enjoying it :) Now if I did re-ignite that spark in you, then WOOHOO! I would LOVE to read more of your work ;) ;) ;)


	14. Cambiare

Disclaimer: No change here. I don't own GB. Come to think of it, I do have change, but it's probably not enough to buy GB. So yeah. I still don't own GB.

* * *

**XIV. Cambiare**

"You know him?", Mido Ban asked his partner, adjusting his purple glasses as he peered at the boy.

Amano Ginji nodded, then said, "I just didn't recognize him at first since he looks different, but Yosuke used to hang out with the Volts back then."

Iarra's statement sounded more like a question. "And you saved his life."

Ginji nodded again, saying, "From the Belt Line monsters."

Yosuke, who was still on his hands and knees before Ginji, said quietly, "I thought I was gonna die that day."

"But you didn't," Ginji said, stepping forward and offering Yosuke his hand.

"That would be thanks to you, Ginji-san," Yosuke said. He was about to raise his right hand when he hesitated, and instead put his left hand in Ginji's.

Iarra narrowed her eyes, noticing his hestitation as Ginji helped him up.

"What're you doing here, Yosuke?", Ginji asked him.

Yosuke looked away. "I work with the Yakuza now, Ginji-san."

"That's news," Ban said wryly.

The boy turned his head to glare at Ban.

"Yosuke," Ginji said. "This is my partner, Mido Ban."

"I know. Who hasn't heard about the 'Invincible Mido Ban-sama'?", he said sarcastically.

"Yeah, news of my awesome-ness still manages to reach far and wide," Ban responded. "... no matter how hard I try to keep it low-key."

"You don't seem to be trying very hard," Iarra remarked.

"And this is Iarra," Ginji said.

Yosuke looked back at Ginji and said, "I didn't know you work with a girl."

Noting the disdain in his voice, Iarra crossed her arms over her chest and raised an eyebrow at him. "Is that a problem?"

Yosuke just looked at her then turned back to Ginji, unsure of what to say.

"Ahh, yes," Iarra said, smirking. "The Yakuza is an all-men's society. They don't trust women since they think women are weak."

"Well," Yosuke said. "You can't blame us for that. Women have been known to be untrustworthy."

"Now that's just sexist," Ban said, bringing about a look of surprise from Iarra. "It's unfair to say that you can't trust her just because she's a girl."

Iarra just stared at Ban, still flabbergasted. _Is he actually defending me?_, she thought.

Ban continued, "The truth is, you can't trust her because she's a liar. It's got nothing to do with her gender."

_Of course not_, Iarra thought, answering her own question. "Wow, I'm sure the Women's Movement appreciates your inspiring words on gender equality."

Ban gave her a lopsided smile. "And I appreciate the women's movement, especially when the movement makes their assets jiggle."

"Ugh," she muttered as she rolled her eyes again.

"So you work as a retriever now, Ginji-san?", Yosuke asked.

The blond nodded. "We're the Get Backers. We get back anything with an almost 100% success rate!"

Ban scowled at the word 'almost'.

"So what are you trying to get back?", Yosuke asked.

"A bloodstone ring," Ginji replied.

Yosuke paused. Should he say something?, he wondered. As a member of the Kagerou-kai, he should now be working solely for the interest of his Yakuza clan. But... the person who was currently standing in front of him was somebody that he was deeply indebted to. Back in Mugenjou, he had vowed to repay that debt, but never had the chance.

"What is it, Yosuke?", Ginji asked, frowning at the boy's hesitation.

The boy sighed, then turned to look the former Lightning Emperor in the eye. This wasn't even close to repaying that debt, but he could at least express his gratitude in his own little way.

"The bloodstone ring," Yosuke started to say. "The guy with the silver hair has it. Right pocket of his cargo pants, if you really wanna know."

Ban flicked his eyes over to Iarra to see her reaction. She noticed him looking at her, but just looked away.

"Why do you want it, anyway?", Yosuke asked.

Ginji answered, "It's our client's heirloom."

"The question should be," Ban said as he continued to look pointedly at Iarra. "Why does Dark Fleet want it?"

Iarra just stayed silent, seemingly deep in thought as she stared at a far wall.

Yosuke shrugged. "All I know is that it's supposed to be a big deal."

_Yep, this job just got more and more complicated_, Ban thought as he looked back at the Yakuza assistant.

"So how'd you end up in this hellhole of a room?", Ban asked him.

The boy shrugged. "I was just wandering around till I got here."

"Wandering around," Iarra repeated. "Dark Fleet doesn't usually let outsiders 'wander around' in their territory."

Yosuke glared at her. "So I broke out of the room where they were holding me in. What's the big deal?"

"You broke out of a room?", Ban asked. "Were they holding you prisoner?"

"No," he answered defensively. He then moved his glare to Ban. "They put me there to keep me safe from you guys."

"Then why'd you break out?," Iarra asked.

"I got bored, okay?", Yosuke said, his scowl growing deeper. "Sheesh. What's with the interrogation?"

"Well, if they were holding you in a room, I think it's remarkable that you were even able to break out," Iarra said, shrugging. "You must be an expert lock picker."

"Yosuke is an expert in these things," Ginji said proudly. "Give him any gadget, and he can figure it out in no time."

"That's pretty handy," Iarra said, her eyes boring into the Yosuke's. "Speaking of hands...," she added, remembering the boy's hesitation earlier when Ginji helped him up. "What happened to yours?"

"What're you talking about? Nothing," was Yosuke quick answer as he surreptitiously tried to put his right hand behind his back.

"So your hand's naturally blue?", Ban asked.

Yosuke scowled in response. He had forgotten that the dark-haired retriever was right behind him.

"I might be able to help you if you show it to me," Iarra said.

The boy hesitated, then said, "It's fine. I don't need your help."

"Suit yourself," Iarra said, shrugging. "If you don't mind the feeling of a thousand needles pricking your skin, then it's fine with me." She then nonchalantly pretended to study her fingernails. "But if you have any last words to say to anyone, we can help deliver the message for you."

Yosuke stared at her, then asked, "What are you talking about?"

She explained, "You've been given the Time Venom. It's a poison that dissolves slowly and gets absorbed by the bloodstream over time, similar to those time-release pills. Guessing by the look of your hand, you've had it for about an hour. Wait for a few more hours, and it'll spread to the rest of your body." She looked at him straight in the eye, then said matter-of-factly, "You will die."

She watched as his eyes grew wide.

"Now I do have the antidote," Iarra continued. "But since you don't want my help..." She let her voice trail off, then went back to studying her fingernails.

Ginji, who also had his eyes wide open at the news that his friend was going to die, turned to him, his big brown eyes pleading, "Yosuke, please accept the antidote. Don't worry. You can trust her."

Yosuke turned his head to stare at the wall, hesitating. "It's not that I don't want the antidote...", he started to say. "It's just that... Tomita-san might be mad at me."

Ban frowned at the mention of the Yakuza's name. "Does he want you dead?"

"No," the boy snapped, glaring at the dark-haired retriever. "This is all because of you. Everything was fine until you showed up. This..." He held up his hand, showing them the gash across his palm. His palm had already turned into a bluish gray color. "... is how we can prove to Dark Fleet that we're not monkeying around."

Ban, Ginji, and Iarra all looked at him, confused.

Yosuke explained, "Once you guys have been dealt with, THEN they'll give me the antidote."

"But I can give it to you now," Iarra said.

"But THIS is how I can prove my loyalty to the Yakuza."

"By dying?", Ban asked incredulously.

"By being willing to die, yes," Yosuke answered him, his chin raised up defiantly.

Iarra sighed. The kid may be a pain in the neck, she thought as she slowly shook her head, but dammit he was just a kid. Plus, he was Ginji's friend. Even if he wouldn't accept any help, he should at least know what his own clan had put him up to.

"Yosuke," she said softly. "There's something I think you should know about how Dark Fleet operates."

Yosuke turned to look at her.

She continued, "When the Fleet gets into a deal with another organization, say... your Yakuza clan, the Kagerou-kai, they expect that organization to do their part, and to do it well. If things don't go smoothly, they assess the situation to see where the shortcoming is. In this case, there is no question that it was the Kagerou-kai."

"But it was you who followed us," Yosuke protested. "How can we be the cause of all this?"

"It was Tomita who left behind some clues," she answered. "Anyway, that doesn't matter now. The thing is... The Fleet would want to send a message to the Kagerou-kai that they were..." She paused as she tried to find the right words. "...unhappy with how things turned out."

Yosuke's eyes widened. "What are they planning to do with Tomita-san?"

"That should be the least of your worries," she answered.

The boy frowned, confused on what Iarra was trying to say.

She explained, "Tomita is the Yakuza's... 'ambassador', if you will. Harming him won't do the Fleet any good, but will just make things worse for them. They're obliged to protect Tomita. You, on the other hand..." She paused again. Her next words should be chosen very carefully. "Your death will be the warning that Dark Fleet would be sending to your clan."

Yosuke stared at her, his mouth open in shock. Finally, he said, "Tomita-san wouldn't let that happen."

"If he wants to have another try at this deal, then he must give Dark Fleet some kind of sacrifice." Softly, Iarra said, "I'm sure he knew that those are the Fleet's terms."

He stared at her, disbelief in his eyes. _Tomita-san can't be giving me to Dark Fleet as a sacrfice, can he?_, he thought. His boss couldn't have planned this all along... Could he?

Yosuke closed his eyes and shook his head, saying, "You're lying." He looked up at Iarra, his eyes fierce, but the quiver in his voice betrayed his emotions. "You're a liar. Ban-san is right."

She gazed back at him, at those eyes that seemed to plead 'Please tell me you're lying'. She walked towards him, then held up a black bead that she had taken from her bodice. "Here."

"What's that?", Yosuke asked as he looked at the bead in her hand.

"It's the antidote."

"I already told you I don't want it."

She sighed, then glared at the boy in frustration.

Before Iarra could say another word, Ginji walked over to her, took the bead from her hand, then stepped in front of Yosuke. Taking Yosuke's left hand, the blond Get Backer placed the bead against the boy's palm, and gently folded the boy's fingers around it.

"Ginji-san," Yosuke said, his eyes softening as he looked back at his former Lightning Emperor.

"Yosuke," Ginji whispered, his brown eyes gazing back tenderly at him. "I don't want you to die."

"But Ginji-san," the boy whispered back, his eyes starting to mist up. "I..."

Ginji just looked back at him, gently encouraging him to continue.

The boy took a deep breath, then gave Ginji a weak smile. "My time with the Volts... Those were the best times of my life. I was a part of something - something meaningful - like I was actually contributing to something bigger than myself." He then looked away, his smile disappearing. "And then suddenly... it was gone. After the Volts were dissolved, I felt... lost." He looked up at him, at his former Emperor, and a tear threatened to streak down his cheek. "Tomita-san was the only one who had been kind enough to take in a nobody like me."

"Kind. Tch," Ban snorted. "Well, he just let them give you a friggin' time bomb."

Yosuke looked up, his eyes once again back to their fierce state as he glared at the dark-haired retriever. "I don't expect somebody like you to understand." He turned to Ginji, and with his jaw set with determination, said, "Ginji-san, thank you for trying to save my life again." He then turned his left wrist over, opened his fist, and let the bead drop into Ginji's hand. "But my life now belongs to the Kagerou-kai. If I take this antidote without their authorization, my life wouldn't last that long, anyway."

"Is that what you're afraid of?", Iarra asked.

"I'm not afraid of anything!", he snapped at her. "Look, my choices right now is to either follow through with the oath that I made to my clan and die with honor, or to break my word and by their hands die with dishonor."

Ginji, who had been staring at the bead in his hand, looked up into his old friend's eyes and saw the familiar look of misery - misery brought about by the feeling of hopelessness that he had seen all too often back in Mugenjou. Yes, Yosuke had left Mugenjou behind, most probably to escape the despair that imprisoned its many denizens - but the freedom that he thought he would gain remained elusive as he found himself imprisoned once again. And this time, there was no escape.

Quietly, Ginji said, "You have a third choice."

Yosuke looked up at the blond retriever.

"You could leave and start a new life," the former Lightning Emperor continued.

The boy snorted. "Leaving a criminal organization is not that easy."

"No, it's not," Iarra said in agreement. She looked straight into Yosuke's eyes, saying, "But it's not impossible."

"You probably think that you're a success story, but you're not off the hook yet, missie," Yosuke said, laughing bitterly. "Now that you're here, Dark Fleet wouldn't let you just walk away, would they? If I were you, I'd watch my back."

"And if I were you, I'd watch my pinky finger," Iarra retorted, referring to the Yakuza's practice of yubizume.

Yosuke just chuckled, then said, "Well, it was nice meeting y'all, but I have nothing else to do here. I think I'm just gonna go off and wander some more. Who knows what wonderful people I will meet next?"

Ban, Ginji, and Iarra just stared at him as he navigated around the clutter towards a door at one end of the room. He was about to open the door when Ginji called out his name. "Yosuke!"

The boy turned back around to face them.

The concerned brown eyes of his former Emperor looked back at him. "I didn't save your life just so you could throw it away," he said.

"Ginji-san," Yosuke said as his eyes softened. A sincere smile came across his face. "I really do thank you for all that you've done for me."

His sincere smile was then replaced by a wide grin as he turned to Ban and Iarra and gave them a big wave, which ended with him sticking out his pinky finger as if it were the middle one. He smirked at their glares, then disappeared behind the door.

Still staring at the door, Iarra commented, "What a piece of work."

Ban, who also had his eyes glued to the door, asked her, "You wanted to wring his scrawny little neck, didn't you?"

"Of course not," she said, gasping in shock as she looked at him. "I can't believe you think I would do something like that." She gave him a lopsided smile. "I was thinking of just pinning him down." She looked back at the door, then added, "... and beating the crap out of him."

Ban snickered, then muttered, "Well, if you won't wring his scrawny little neck, I would."

Iarra chuckled back. "Can you imagine? You've just been dethroned from your title of 'Most Annoying'. Just like that."

Ban glared at her, unamused.

Ginji, whose eyes never left the door, whispered, "Yosuke."

Ban looked at his partner, and saw the dejected look in his eyes. "He made his choice, Ginji." He then muttered, "A very stupid one, I should say."

"That means we should get going," Iarra added.

Ginji looked at her. "You think he's gonna tell Dark Fleet that we're here?"

"Why else did he leave suddenly?", she asked.

"Ginji," Ban said. "Right now, his life depends on us being 'dealt with'. Do you really think he would pass up that chance to prove to them how valuable he is?"

Ginji slumped his shoulders as he looked down at the floor. "I guess not." He took another look at the bead in his hand, then placed it in the inside pocket of his tux. He noticed Ban looking at him questioningly.

"You're still gonna try, aren't you?", Ban asked.

"I don't know," the blond answered with a sigh. "But I'm gonna keep this just in case."

"Don't do anything stupid, Ginji," Ban warned.

"It's not stupid to try to save someone's life."

Ban sighed. "You already saved him once. What he does with his life after that is not your responsibility."

"I know, but..." Ginji's voice trailed off as he looked back at the door where Yosuke disappeared behind.

Iarra, who was already halfway to the entrance to the spyways, called out to them. "Hey, guys! The break is over. Now stop chatting and get your asses moving. C'mon, let's go! We don't have all night!"

"What are you a drill sergeant now, Sergeant McBitchy?", Ban asked.

"Yep, so hurry up, Major Smartass! An old lady can move faster than you."

Ban scowled at her, then turned to his partner. "Can't wait till this is all over."

* * *

A Dark Fleet agent opened the door to Shinzaki's office and motioned for Shimo to enter. As Shimo stepped in, he saw Shinzaki standing behind his mahogany desk with his back turned to the door. He was looking out the window, deep in thought and with a smoking pipe dangling in his mouth. As the door closed, the Dark Fleet boss delicately held the pipe in his hand and gently blew out some smoke.

A mild nutty aroma with a hint of sweetness filled the air. In the years that he had worked with this particular man, Shimo had become accustomed to the scents that would surround Shinzaki every time he picked up his pipe. The Dark Fleet boss was an avid pipe smoker and had a collection of tobacco blends, all with their distinctive whiffs, and all corresponding to what mood Shinzaki was currently in.

Tonight, he was smoking a perique blend (1), Shimo noted. Which means that the Dark Fleet boss was either celebrating, or was extremely anxious that he needed his favorite blend to calm him down. Shimo thought it would be the latter.

Not wanting to waste his breath on unnecessary greetings, Shinzaki went straight to the point. "The Get Backers have escaped," he said.

Shimo took a deep breath, then responded, "Hai."

"And you've just had an encounter with them."

"Hai."

"And they've still managed to get away." It was a statement that seemed more like an order to elaborate on the said fact.

Shimo bowed his head. "I confess that I have underestimated them."

Shinzaki moved the pipe to his mouth and took a slow and steady sip. He let the smoke roll around in his mouth, savoring the flavor before he exhaled. "Have a seat, Shimo."

Shimo stepped forward toward the desk and did as he was told, his body tense as he sat up straight on the leather-padded mahogany chair that was facing Shinzaki's desk. Granted, he seldom failed in the tasks that Shinzaki had assigned to him, but it had always been hard to predict whether the man would extend his mercy or his wrath in cases like this, so he braced himself to whatever reaction the boss would give.

To Shimo's relief, the Shinzaki just said, "I expect that you will be correcting that mistake."

"Hai. Preparations for their capture are already taking place." Shimo took another deep breath, then continued, "There's something else that should also be a concern."

"What would that be?"

"The Get Backers are working with a former elite."

The boss turned from watching the waves outside to look at Shimo. "Who is it?"

"Iarra." The superficial cut on Shimo's chest that he had just received from said agent seemed to go deeper, straight into his heart, as he said her name.

He noticed the look of recognition that came over Shinzaki's face as the boss frowned. "Now what do our records say happened to her?"

"She had gone missing and was assumed dead," was Shimo's reply.

A sardonic smile appeared on Shinzaki's lips. "This just goes to show the folly of making assumptions." He took another whiff from his pipe. "It's a shame that the Silver Claw is no longer at the Fleet's disposal. He would've taken care of that problem. The lack of information on Dark Fleet's most effective instrument had proven unhelpful since Havoc's demise."

Shinzaki walked over to his desk, then gently tapped the ash out of his pipe against the cork that was in the middle of his simple black ceramic pipe ashtray. "But...", he said as he made his way back to look out the window. "... all that does not matter anymore. The Fleet's future, and not its past, is the one that is at stake. What the Fleet needs right now is a strong leader - one that is stronger than Havoc - one that can unite all our factions around the world so we can regain our former glory. How we rise up in this occasion is the first step in filling the vacancy that Havoc had left behind."

He put the pipe to his mouth again and inhaled, drawing in the exotic nicotine blend and relishing its flavor in his mouth. As he exhaled, he turned and smiled at Shimo. "In a way, I'm glad that this has happened."

Shimo looked back at him, a look of confusion in his eyes.

"Since the Kagerou-kai has unwittingly not kept up their end of the bargain," Shinzaki explained. "We now have the justification that we need to make more demands." He smiled again. "Once the Kagerou-kai is under our control, then we will have enough power to work with the Yamaguchi-gumi (2)." He looked out the window, as if deep in thought. "This is an opportunity to show the rest of the Fleet how strong the Japanese arm is - that the Pristine isn't just a pretty ship..." He then turned to look Shimo directly in the eye, then continued, "... that we can run the rest of Dark Fleet from here."

The silver-haired agent's eyes widened as he realized what the Dark Fleet boss was saying.

"Yes," Shinzaki said, chuckling at Shimo's surprised expression. "I believe I can take Havoc's place, if given the chance. The Fleet just needs to recognize my abilities and the skills of my crew. It may sound ambitious now, but I do believe that it is possible."

He took another slow puff, walked back to his desk, then sat down at his chair. He reached over and let his pipe rest on the ashtray, then clasped his hands in front of him as he leaned forward. "Shimo," he said.

"Hai."

"How would you like to be my Silver Claw?"

Shimo's jaw dropped open.

Shinzaki let the Dark Fleet agent process what he just said, then continued, "Havoc's success was due largely to his personal shadow agent. In order to ensure victory, I would need someone of high caliber to be able to execute my plans." He smiled. "I have worked with you for a long time, Shimo. I believe you are the best person for this job."

The silver-haired agent finally found his voice. "I would be honored, sir."

Shinzaki's smile grew wider. "It's settled then. Now that the pieces are falling into place, we now have the opportunity to rise up again to what we once were." He reached over and took the smoking pipe that he left on the ashtray, leaned back against his chair, then took another slow whiff. He let the flavor linger in his mouth for a bit before breathing it out.

He then looked straight into his agent's ice blue eyes, saying, "Now back to the matter at hand..."

Shimo looked back at his boss attentively.

"I want you to solve the Get Backers problem."

"Do you have a preference on how you want me to solve it?", Shimo asked.

Shinzaki shook his head. "Just deal with them as you see fit. We can't have them ruining the rest of our plans."

Shimo nodded. He hesitated for a bit, then asked, "And what about Iarra?" He dreaded to hear what the answer would be.

As Shimo expected, Shinzaki's reply was simple. "Kill her." The boss noticed the hesitant look in his agent's eyes as he took another slow drag from his pipe. "Is there a problem, Shimo?"

Shimo took a deep breath before answering. "She was a very formidable agent. Perhaps we can enlist her services once again. Her abilities can be of great use in the Fleet's vulnerable state."

Shinzaki's eyes hardened. "It is agents like her that caused the Fleet to be in this vulnerable state. Even if she goes back, her loyalities are now in question." He gave Shimo a warning look. "Don't let me question yours."

"I apologize for causing you doubt," Shimo said bowing his head. "It will be done as you wish."

* * *

A/N : This chapter's title "Cambiare" is an Italian word meaning "to change". In music, it indicates some sort of orchestral change such as a new instrument. In this chapter, I am referring to Shimo being the "new instrument" of Dark Fleet.

(1) Perique is a rare type of tobacco that has a strong distinctive cooked fruit aroma. It is very expensive and is considered the "truffle of pipe tobaccos". Since it's very strong, it's not meant to be taken straight, but is supposed to be blended with other types. The nutty scent in this scene was due to the other type of tobacco that was blended in - burley, if you really want to know. By the way, I know this by reading, not experiencing :P

(2) The Yamaguchi-gumi is the largest Yakuza clan, and one of the most powerful criminal organizations in the world. It is currently estimated that roughly 45% of all Yakuza are members of this clan.


	15. How Do You Solve A Problem Like GB?

Disclaimer: You already know what goes here.

* * *

**XV. How Do You Solve A Problem Like The Get Backers?**

The Get Backers found themselves once again in darkness, guided only by the now familiar dim blue glow emanating from the ex-Dark Fleet agent's bioluminiscent bead.

They had already been walking for some time now when Amano Ginji, who was at the rear, suddenly remembered something that he had just noticed as he stepped into the spyways with his partner.

"Ban-chan?"

"Mmmm?", Mido Ban said in response.

"Do you know that your fly's open?"

Quickly, Ban looked down, confirming what his partner had just said. Thankfully, the darkness in the spyway concealed the color of his face. He hurriedly zipped up the perturbing wardrobe problem, then grumbled, "If I knew, why would I leave it open, you idiot?"

Iarra, who was just in front of him, snickered.

Ban glared at her. "You knew about it, and you never bothered to mention it."

She turned her head to him and grinned. "It was only HALF-open. I didn't even notice it until we first got out of the spyways."

"You could've said something then, you know."

"Yeah, I could've," she said as she turned back to start walking again. "But saying it in the middle of a fight didn't seem appropriate."

The thought of the Invincible Mido Ban-sama fighting with a half-open fly did not sit well with the dark-haired retriever. "You had lots of opportunities to say something AFTER."

With indifference that irritated Ban, she said, "I forgot, okay? Open flies aren't exactly at the forefront of my mind."

Another corridor intersected with the one that they were currently in, and Iarra chose to turn to the left. The retrievers followed close behind.

"I would ask why you do had it open," Iarra said. "...but I'm not sure I want to know."

Ban, who didn't think that the remark needed a response, just opted to give her a glare.

Always-helpful Ginji, however, thought it would be good to reply. "Oh, I think that was before we got captured. Ban-chan was gonna use his pants to float in the water when we jump off the ship."

She half-snickered and half-snorted. "And THAT is your grand escape plan?," she said as she shook her head. "Again, I wonder how you keep yourselves alive."

"I suppose you have a better idea?", Ban said, scowling at her.

"As a matter of fact, I do."

"Let's hear it, then."

She stopped walking, turned around to face them, then leaned her shoulder against the wall as she crossed her arms. Ban raised his eyebrows at her challengingly, and she responded by smiling smugly back.

"I'm sure you remember that there is a chopper on the helipad right now," she started to say.

"And you're gonna fly it," Ban interrupted with a snort.

She just shrugged in reply. "Unless you wanna do it."

The dark-haired retriever narrowed his eyes at her. "Where'd YOU learn to fly choppers?"

She smiled slyly. "I guess you could call that Smuggling School. I had lessons on how to operate different types of vehicles in order to smuggle things."

"And when was the last time you flew one of these things?"

Her sly smile turned into a sheepish one. She looked away, muttering, "Smuggling School."

"And you haven't flown one since then."

"I never had the chance," she replied defensively. "Until now."

Ban snorted again. "Now's not the time to take that chance, especially when we're gonna have our LIVES in your hands. We need somebody who's had EXPERIENCE, not just LESSONS."

"Well, it's a better idea than floating with our pants!"

"Why? Because it'll give us a quicker death?"

Iarra just glared back at him. Gritting her teeth, she said, "Do you have other ideas?"

Ban glared at her one more time before sighing and leaning his back against the wall opposite her. He then rested his chin against his hand as he tried to think.

"What about life boats?," Ban finally said. "Doesn't this ship have them?"

"Yes," Iarra replied. "But they're inflatable."

"And that's a problem because...?"

She gave him a deadpan look. "Dark Fleet agents use daggers."

"Really?", Ban said sarcastically. "And I thought they were using steak knives."

"Steak knives or daggers... It doesn't matter," she retorted. "Sharp objects and inflatable boats don't work well together. They'll be aiming at us. We won't get very far."

Ban frowned at the word 'we'.

"Iarra-chan," Ginji, who had been silently watching the exchange between his partner and Iarra, chimed in. "What if we just wait till the ship docks?"

Iarra shook her head. "I'm not sure exactly where this ship will dock, but I'm pretty sure it'll be at a Dark Fleet-controlled port. They'll have more agents waiting for us, while they escape with the ring, and we'll get nowhere. We should be out of here before then, or it'll be a bigger headache." She looked back at the two retrievers. "The chopper's our best bet."

"Speaking of the ring," Ban said as he looked directly into Iarra's eyes. "Why do I still have a feeling that it's your target?"

She shrugged, again with that irritating indifference, as she met his gaze directly. "Yeah. Why do you?"

Ban glowered at her nonchalance. "Gee, let's see. Maybe it's because Shimo and Yosuke, as representatives of Dark Fleet and the Yakuza, respectively, both said how this ring is a very big deal. And we both know that bloodstone isn't even worth shit." He narrowed his eyes at her. "So tell me, Dagger Freak. Why are two big criminal organizations so up in arms about it?"

"I've been thinking about that myself," Iarra said, ignoring his accusing look and just directing her gaze past Ginji towards the darkness. She then said, "It's probably more symbolic than monetary."

Ban narrowed his eyes even more. "And what about your target?"

She looked at him questioningly.

Ban sighed with exasperation. This feigned innocence was starting to get on his nerves. "That super secret item that you're after?," he elaborated.

"What about it?"

Ban gritted his teeth at her uncooperativeness. He was really making an effort here to keep himself from wringing her neck. With forced patience, he asked, "What's your plan on getting it?"

"Oh," she said, shrugging again. "It's more important that this deal doesn't go through. If you get the ring back, then that will be seen as a bad symbol by both Dark Fleet and the Yakuza. They're gonna have a hard time trusting each other again."

This time, Ban gave up on his efforts in keeping himself calm.

"Bullshit," he growled as he rushed towards her and clasped his right hand around her neck, pinning her against the wall.

"Ban-chan!", Ginji gasped.

Iarra, who was taken by surprise, stared at Ban with her eyes wide open. As soon as she regained her composure, her hands moved to the hilts of her daggers.

"Don't even bother," Ban growled. "By the time you pull out your daggers, I would've already squeezed your neck."

She looked up at the dark-haired retriever, her eyes hard. She then took a deep breath and relaxed her grip on her weapons. With a low, forcibly calm voice, she asked, "What is your problem, Mido?"

His eyes narrowed into slits as he answered, "I've had enough of your bullshit."

"And I've had enough of yours."

His hand tightened around her neck, making her wince. "Just tell me what your damn target is!"

"For the millionth time," she said as struggled to gulp in the small amounts of air that were still passing through her constricted airways. "It's NOT the ring."

"I don't believe you," Ban growled, tightening his grip all the more.

"So what're you gonna do, Mido?", Iarra asked, her eyes boring into his even as she grimaced. "Kill me?"

"Don't tempt me," was his reply.

"Ban-chan," Ginji said, his brown eyes filled with anxiety.

Ban ignored his partner, tightening his grip just a little bit more before repeating his question. "What is your target?"

She glared at him again. Finally, she grumbled, "Fine, I'll tell you."

Ban saw the look of resignation on her face, and it was enough for him to decide to release his grip.

Once he did, she gulped in some much needed air, rubbed the sore spot on her neck where his fingers dug deep, then said, "But not right now."

A vein popped in Ban's head. He was about to charge again when Ginji reached out just in time and held him back. The dark-haired retriever turned chibi as he struggled to break free from his partner. "Don't stop me, Ginji! Lemme at her!"

"Ban-chan, you need to calm down!"

"Calm down? She may be screwing us over and you want me to calm down?"

"Strangling her won't solve anything!"

Iarra leaned back against the wall, crossed her arms over her chest, and languidly watched the whirl of chibi arms and legs as the retrieval duo grappled with each other.

"Look," she finally said with a sigh. "You may find this hard to believe, but I'm not being difficult just to annoy you. I promised my client that I won't breathe a word of it to anyone. Don't you, as Shinjuku's best retrieval team, know a thing or two about honoring clients' requests?"

The scuffle between the two retrievers stopped. Ban then returned to his normal form and glared at her. "We know ALL about honoring clients' requests. We wouldn't have a 100% success rate if we didn't. Shut up, Ginji."

Ginji, who had just opened his mouth to correct his partner about their success rate, dutifully did as he was told.

Ban continued, his eyes still narrow with suspicion, "We also know a thing or two about being stabbed in the back."

Iarra met his gaze evenly, then said, "Good for you."

It was that irritating indifference again. With gritted teeth, he said, "Dagger Freak."

She rolled her eyes, then said, "You expect me to respond to that?"

Ban took a deep breath to calm himself down. "Dagger Freak," he repeated. "I am doing my very best not to snap your neck in half right now..."

"And you're doing very well, so far," she interrupted with a smirk. "Keep it up."

Ban, who was almost at the end of his rope, suddenly stepped in front of Iarra and struck the wall with the bottom of his clenched fists right at each side of her head, making her wince with the deafening sound.

"Ban-chan!", Ginji gasped again.

He created two holes in the wall right beside each of her ears, and Ban was satisfied to see that her smirk had disappeared. He loomed over her and looked down, his eyes piercing into hers. "I know there's more to this than what you're letting on."

She just looked up at him and said nothing.

He continued, "But I'm willing to give you the benefit of the doubt and work with you given our current circumstances."

The smirk reappeared. "You mean you're screwed without me," she said.

He snorted. "I wouldn't go that far. You overestimate your value, Dagger Freak." He narrowed his eyes at her. "I still don't believe that you're just gonna forget about your target, so if you ever so much as make a feeble attempt at double-crossing us, I can assure you that what happened to this wall would happen to every single bone in your body." And with his most threatening glare, he said, "Consider yourself warned."

She met his glare unflinchingly, then responded, "I'll keep that in mind. Can we move on now?"

He gave her one last glare before grudgingly removing his fists from being embedded in the wall. "Just remember that I have my eyes on you, Dagger Freak."

"How sweet," she said sarcastically. "Look, we can't afford to waste any more time, so I would appreciate it if there are no more outbursts from you." She then turned to Ginji. "And I'm counting on you to keep your partner in check."

"What?," Ban said incredulously. "YOU'RE the one who needs to be kept in check!"

Ignoring that last comment, she continued, "We need a plan. We can't just burst out of here hoping to run into Shimo with him holding a silver platter that has the ring on it."

Ban's glare was replaced by a thoughtful look as an idea started forming in his mind. Slowly, he said, "That's not a bad plan, actually."

She raised an eyebrow. Ban looked at her, a grin forming on his lips.

"What do you have in mind?", she asked Ban, her eyes narrowing.

Instead of answering, he asked her, "How well do you know Shimo?"

"Well enough."

Ban's grin disappeared at the vague answer. "Okay. What can you tell us about him?"

She sighed, then crossed her arms over her chest again as she thought.

"Well," she began. "He absolutely hates Winnie the Pooh. First, because the thing's an anthropomorphic bear with a pot-belly that seems to have forgotten his pants. Second, because Shimo thinks it's the silliest thing to be called 'Pooh'."

Ban scowled. It wasn't the answer he was looking for, but before he could say anything, Iarra continued, "Oh, and you might find this surprising, but Shimo actually doesn't like cold drinks very much. He's very much a hot drinks kind of person."

Ban's scowl deepened, and another vein in his head started to throb, threatening to pop as she continued her babble.

"... Especially tea. He loves his tea. And he loves putting honey in his tea. I told him that he and Winnie the Pooh actually have something in common: their love of honey." She smiled at Ban. "He didn't think that was very funny."

Ban didn't think it was very funny, either. Smoke started to rise from his ears, until finally he exploded. "HOW THE HELL DOES THAT HELP US?"

"I have no idea," Iarra answered calmly. "Now if you wanna know something specific, then you gotta ask a more specific question."

Ginji looked at the irked faces before him, then said, "I think I'm gonna stand over here." He stepped in front of Ban, facing his partner as he put a calming hand on Ban's shoulder and gently pushed the spiky-haired retriever to the side to position himself between the two.

"Fine," Ban grumbled as the last of the smoke from his ears trickled up until it dissipated. He took a deep breath to calm himself down, then asked, "Here's a specific question. Do you think he would hide the ring somewhere?"

She rolled her eyes. "Well, he wouldn't be wearing it, that's for sure." She then gave him a look that said 'Duh'.

He glared at her again. "It would be nice if you could lose the attitude, sweetheart."

"Yeah, it would be. So's frolicking on a Caribbean beach," she said. "Too bad we just have to make do without these nice things."

Ban gave his partner an exasperated look. "You still think strangling her is a bad idea?"

The blond just gave his partner an admonishing smile before turning to Iarra. "Where would Shimo keep it, then?"

She smirked at Ban first before turning to Ginji. "Well, the kid said it'd be in the right pocket of his cargo pants, didn't he?"

"And you believe him?", Ban asked, his eyebrows raised. "You don't think that such an extremely loveable brat would be lying through his adorable little teeth?"

"To us, maybe. But to Ginji, I don't think so," she answered. "Besides, as incredibly charming as that brat was, what he said is actually very likely. Shimo's the type that would feel more at ease when the item that he's guarding is within his reach."

Ban crossed his arms over his chest again as he thought. "That means we just need to get our hands on your frosty friend."

"Yeah," Ginji agreed. "There's no way he can win against the three of us. Once we have him cornered, we should be able to defeat him."

"I don't think he would be stupid enough to fight all of us by himself," Ban told his partner. He then turned to Iarra. "Are there any other elite agents in this ship that we should be aware of?"

She shook her head. "Not that I know of." She thought for a bit, then added, "That protector might show up, though."

Ginji groaned. "Hishiki-san," he said, his voice filled with dread.

"You know him," she said to the blond.

Ban snickered, saying, "More than he would like."

She frowned, then a look of understanding came over her face. "You've fought him."

Ginji nodded. "It's not something I wanna do again."

She smiled in amusement. "It was that bad, huh."

Ban snorted. "You haven't seen Hishiki fight, have you?"

"I've heard stories, but nope, can't say that I have," she answered.

He smirked. "Let's just hope that you don't get to experience it first-hand."

"Sure, if you say so," was her unconcerned reply.

Ban chuckled at her impassiveness. "Well, don't come begging me for help if you do."

"Aww, so you don't respond to damsels in distress?", she said sarcastically.

"What do you care? You don't fall into that category. She-devils in distress, on the other hand, is something I wanna see purely for its entertainment value."

Ginji cleared his throat, interrupting them. "Ummm... Shouldn't we be talking about getting the ring back?"

Ban and Iarra stood there and glared at each other.

Finally, Ban said, "Yes, we should." He stared at the wall again as he thought. "We need to get Shimo to come to us. And to do that, we need some BAIT."

He then looked pointedly at Iarra. She blinked blankly back at him, but Ban just continued to give her a meaningful look. She then scowled as she realized what he was suggesting.

"You're kidding me, right?", she said, still glowering.

Ginji looked at his partner, his brows furrowed in confusion.

"Oh, I'm serious, sweetheart. Don't tell me you didn't learn anything from your little glow-in-the-dark trinket," Ban said, motioning to her bioluminiscent bead. He then proceeded to paraphrase what she told him earlier. "Lure the prey, then when it gets close, snap it up with some fang-like teeth. Some smarty-pants told me that once."

She looked like she wanted to protest, but couldn't come up with a valid reason. Realizing this, Ban smirked and kept his eyes bored into hers, challenging her, daring her to object - and if she couldn't, to just give up and give in to the awesome workings of the mind of the Invincible Mido Ban-sama.

Ginji looked at Iarra, then at Ban, then back at Iarra, but neither of the two budged but just continued to stare at each other. His frown grew even deeper.

Finally, the blond couldn't take it any longer.

"I'm so confused. Who has fang-like teeth?"

* * *

Shimo looked out the porthole and watched the light from the full moon glisten across the waves outside. A light breeze wafted in, gently blowing his silver locks against his face. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, heightening the sensation of the cool wind on his skin.

In his mind's eye, he could see the familiar form of Iarra's back turned to him as she leaned against the ship's railing.

_She was in her Dark Fleet jumpsuit with her hair up in a bun. He stepped forward out of the shadows and stood beside her._

_"It's peaceful here, isn't it?", he said to her._

_They were at the deck just above the outdoor lounge area of the _Pristine_, which boasted a heated pool right at the massive yacht's bow, along with a jacuzzi at the side. It was one of the many features of the luxury yacht that was used to entertain guests of the Dark Fleet boss Shinzaki. At that time, the lounge area was empty._

_She didn't reply, but just continued to watch the ship's bow slice easily through the rough waters below._

_Shimo leaned forward against the railing as well and inhaled deeply, saturating his lungs with the fresh saline air._

_"Here you can just enjoy the sea breeze and listen to the waves as they dance around the ship," he said. "Here you can forget the problems that you have to deal with, even just for a moment, and just enjoy the stillness and the feeling of peace."_

_She said nothing, but just stared into the distance. Up ahead, Shimo could make out the faint city lights emerging from the horizon, indicating that they were nearing their destination.  
_

_Finally, she broke her silence. "The stillness and the feeling of peace," she said softly, repeating his words. "... are fleeting if your soul is at war."_

___Shimo turned to look at her._ It was the most that she had said after coming back from their mission just a few hours ago.

_The mission had involved straightening out a dispute that Dark Fleet was having with a certain distributor known as The Ram. Because of reports that The Ram was taking more than his share of the earnings, Dark Fleet had sent both Shimo and Iarra, along with a team of other agents, to come to said distributor's warehouse for a surprise visit._

_The visit had turned into a scuffle._

_In the mayhem, Shimo had spotted Iarra breaking away from the ruckus and making her way up the stairs, presumably straight to The Ram's office. He had quickly taken care of the pair of guards that were obstructing his path, then had hastily followed her._

_He had just opened the door and had barely stepped in when he was greeted by a shocking sight._

_The Ram was slumped in his chair behind the desk, his white shirt stained red from the blood that was draining out of the hole at his chest. His eyes and mouth were wide with terror, as if he had just looked at the face of his killer and realized that he was going to die but didn't even have the time to scream._

_Iarra had been standing near the door, unmoving as if frozen, and with a horrified expression in her eyes._

_Shimo noticed, though, that her head was turned to her left, and that her eyes were not on the dead distributor, but was fixed on something else. He had followed her gaze and gasped._

_Lying on the floor was the body of a child, his hair soaked in a puddle of fresh blood. He was about five or six years old._

_"The Silver Claw," Shimo had breathed._

_Iarra seemed to have snapped out of her trance and had turned her head to him._

_"He got to The Ram before we did," Shimo had said to her. "I didn't know there was an assassination order for him." He had turned his head back to the dead child. "I don't understand why he would kill The Ram's son, though."_

_He had then looked back at her before saying, "He really must be as merciless as they say."_

The wind stopped blowing momentarily, and Shimo opened his eyes to focus once again on his task. He turned from looking out the porthole and leaned his back against the wall. His ice blue eyes scanned the large warehouse-type room as he scrutinized the various riffraff that was the room's contents.

The Dark Fleet agent had come to this room to investigate the claims of Tomita's assistant, who had apparently spotted them here after straying from the room where the boy was supposedly locked in. The porthole that was left open was Shimo's first clue.

His eyes landed on the cleared area at the center of the room, at the outline of the hatchway that opens directly into the water. He could almost imagine her sitting there, possibly resting with her arms wrapped around her legs. The two retrievers would have been close by, also possibly resting. His gaze flicked down to his feet, and his eyes narrowed as he noticed the discarded cigarette on the floor - something that was obviously left behind just recently.

They were definitely here.

This area of the _Pristine_ was some distance away from the room where he fought them. How they managed to move around the ship without being detected was still a mystery, but it was a mystery that he had to unravel if he was to solve this Get Backers problem.

He walked over to the center of the room. Yes, he could even make out faint marks on the dust on the floor where they would have sat. He frowned as he noticed something peculiar on one of the dust marks. He stepped closer and knelt down to take a better look.

Small clumps of dust gathered at the outline of this particular dust mark, which made it strangely thicker than the others. Shimo furrowed his brow as he wondered what could've caused it.

A look of realization came upon his face as the answer dawned on him.

_Static electricity_, he thought. _Of course. _The dust on the floor had been attracted to this particular source of electric charge.

His lips curled up into a satisfied smile. This mystery was now closer to being solved. All he had to do next was to follow the dust trail left behind by the Lightning Emperor.

He did just that, and the dust trail led him across the heaps of clutter to one end of the room, where the trail seemed to end abruptly. He examined the floor, the wall, even the ceiling - his ice blue eyes scouring the area for any other clues that he might have missed, but he couldn't find anything else. He sighed in frustration at the apparent dead end.

They couldn't have just vanished into thin air, could they?, he wondered.

No, he thought, answering his own question as he shook his head. This couldn't be a dead end. He refused to accept this as a dead end. With renewed determination, he knelt down to examine the dust patterns more closely.

The small clumps of dust marked the exact spot where the Lightning Emperor had stood, and the patterns made it look like the retriever was facing the wall before seemingly disappearing.

But where could he have disappeared to?

Shimo moved his eyes over to where the wall met the floor. With his keen eye, he noticed that the dust on the floor seemed to stop about an inch shy of the wall, as if something had slid against the wall and cleared the dust, creating this dustless line on the floor.

He almost gasped as the thought struck him. It was the wall. They had disappeared behind the wall. Dark Fleet had used secret passageways before, that he knew for sure. He had even been inside some of them. But in the years that he had spent working in the _Pristine_, the thought never entered his mind that this ship would actually have them.

He stood up and knocked on the wall, and it responded with a hollow sound. Right now, he didn't have the luxury of spending too much time trying to search for whatever mechanism would open it, so he took out one of his daggers and pointed the tip of the blade towards the wall as he closed his eyes.

A streak of ice shot out from his weapon, and a section of the wall froze instantly as soon as the ice made contact. He opened his eyes and paused.

He was almost afraid of what he might find out.

Shaking his head as if to clear his apprehensions away, he flipped his dagger, then struck the frozen part of the wall with the pommel.

The wall shattered into several frozen fragments, revealing a dark and narrow passageway.

His mouth dropped open in amazement. He stepped over the pieces of ice into the passageway and looked in, but all he could see on both sides was darkness.

So this was how the Get Backers were able to move around the ship freely, and Iarra must be guiding them.

_Iarra_, he thought with a sigh. How was it possible that she knew about these passageways and he did not? Did she know about it when they were working together? And if she did, why had she kept it from him?

He raised his right arm and aimed the tip of his dagger towards the darkness. An ice streak flew from his weapon into the shadows. After a few seconds, he heard the sound of the ice breaking as it struck the end of the passageway, letting him estimate the length of the corridor.

He had spent far more time here than any other agent, including her. He would even dare consider this ship his home. And now, it turned out that there were a lot of things about this ship that he didn't even know, things that were kept hidden from him.

It was very unsettling, to say the least. All this time, somebody could've been going in and out of this ship, watching their every move without his knowledge.

He frowned. He knew of only one agent in the whole Dark Fleet roster that had been known to do just that.

_"The Silver Claw," Shimo had breathed._

The scene played out again in his mind, but this time, with a new perspective.

_Iarra seemed to have snapped out of her trance and had turned her head to him._

_"He got to The Ram before we did," Shimo had said to her. "I didn't know there was an assassination order for him." He had turned his head back to the dead child. "I don't understand why he would kill The Ram's son, though."_

_He had then looked back at her before saying, "He really must be as merciless as they say."_

He recalled it now - how her face had taken on a pained expression when he said that.

He had been puzzled by her behavior that night. He had just assumed that her being affected by the child's death was related to something in her past that she was reluctant to tell him. She didn't elaborate, and he didn't pry.

Now, he understood why.

The merciless killer that assassinated The Ram and his son was her.

_Iarra_, he thought as he clenched his fist tightly around his dagger. _Who are you, really?_

* * *

A/N: As you may have noticed, the full title of this chapter is "How Do You Solve A Problem Like The Get Backers?". This site apparently thought it was too long, so I had to cut it.

Nope, I haven't run out of music-related titles (not yet, anyway). This chapter's title was a play on the words "How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria?", a line from the song "Maria", which is from a certain musical, which you've probably heard of. Just in case you haven't, the musical is entitled... get this.. "The Sound of MUSIC". Hah!

No, Shimo's not singing it in his head...


	16. Affannoso

Disclaimer: I don't own GB. I'm just a fan having fun.

* * *

**XVI. Affannoso**

Iarra leaned against the ship's railing, closed her eyes, and inhaled deeply as the sea breeze ruffled her ponytail. She exhaled, slowly opening her eyes as she let her gaze fall down, landing on the empty outdoor pool right below. The ethereal glow from the dim pool lights reminded her of a giant screen; and on that screen, she could see moving images that played out scenes from long ago.

She remembered being here at this exact same spot. She remembered looking out into the distance as she tried to maintain some semblance of calm, and she remembered the great effort that she had exerted in doing so. She also remembered - very clearly - the events that had caused the turbulence inside her.

_She was at The Ram's warehouse with Shimo and the other Dark Fleet agents. She was fighting; and at the same time, she was looking for an opportunity to carry out a specific order from Havoc himself that the others knew nothing about._

_The opportunity came soon enough, so she detached herself from the rest of the team and went straight to The Ram's office. However, just as she was running up the stairs, she saw Shimo's head turn and she knew that he had seen her._

_She had to do it quickly then._

What happened inside The Ram's office was something that she had loathed herself for in the years that followed.

She would like to think that it wasn't her fault. She was in a hurry and didn't have time to think things through. She knew Shimo would come soon, and he did. She had just barely finished the awful deed when he walked in.

It could even be said that it was The Ram's fault for bringing the child to his warehouse. He should've known that he was endangering his own son. If he thought that Dark Fleet would spare him because his son was there, he was badly mistaken. Besides, she was younger and less experienced, so accidents were part of the learning process.

She could think of all sorts of excuses why she shouldn't be to blame, but that was just what they were - excuses. The fact of the matter was - she WAS to blame. No matter which way she looked at it, that child, whose only fault was that his father was a fool, was now dead because of her.

She closed her eyes in anguish. Yes, she remembered the great effort that she had exerted in keeping her internal turmoil to herself; and for the most part, she seemed to succeed.

That was until he came and stood beside her.

She dared not look into those ice blue eyes. She knew that once she did, that she would break down and that all her efforts would be for naught. And so she had just stood there in silence.

She forced her eyes open and swallowed the lump forming in her throat as she stared once again at the waters being parted by the _Pristine's_ massive bow.

"It's peaceful here, isn't it?", she said out loud.

The sound of the waves below was her reply.

"Here you can just enjoy the sea breeze and listen to the waves as they dance around the ship," she continued. "Here you can forget the problems that you have to deal with, even just for a moment, and just enjoy the stillness and the feeling of peace."

She stared into the distance, and waited.

"The stillness and the feeling of peace," a soft voice wafted through the air from behind her. "... are fleeting if your soul is at war."

She smiled.

Shimo stepped out of the shadows, saying, "Isn't that right, Iarra?"

"That, it is," she answered, turning her head to direct her smile at him. "That, it is."

He took a few more steps toward the railing, then leaned against it. He wasn't right beside her this time, but was some distance away. They both stood there, just aware of each other's presence but neither of them saying a word as they looked down at the waters below.

Finally, the sound of a sigh broke the silence. "I'm sorry, Shimo," Iarra said softly.

He turned to look at her.

"For not contacting you all this time." She looked back at those ice blue eyes, and she felt her chest tighten. "I thought it was for the best."

He didn't reply, but just continued to pierce her with his icy gaze. "Why'd you leave, Iarra?", he asked. "Is it the money? Did somebody offer you a bigger paycheck?"

Her lips turned up into an amused smile. "Shimo," she said, chuckling. "Has your opinion of me really gone down to the depths?"

"I don't know. You tell me, Iarra." His eyes hardened. "You're not the person I thought you were."

His words cut through her heart. It pained her to see that look in those ice blue eyes, as if his own words had hurt him just as much as it hurt her. And it pained her even more to know that there was some truth to them.

"I'm sorry," was all she managed to rasp out.

The despair in her voice was something that he took no pleasure in hearing. His eyes softened as he looked into the distance.

"Why'd you leave, Iarra?", he asked again, but this time more gently. He directed his gaze back to her as he said, "I'd really like to know."

She seemed to wrestle with her thoughts before answering, "I didn't like what I was turning into."

He looked at her again, his blue eyes full of questions.

"When we were fighting earlier..." Her voice broke as she recalled how it would've turned out if she hadn't stopped herself. "You saw what I could be capable of."

He nodded, as if he understood completely what she was trying to say. "I know what you are capable of."

She looked back at him and studied his face as she tried to read what was on his mind, but he just looked back at her, his eyes boring into hers.

"That mission with The Ram," he continued. "It was you who did it, wasn't it?"

Her breath caught in her throat, and her voice seemed to have left her as she stared at him.

"Wasn't it, Iarra?", he repeated, his voice more forceful.

"Yes," she whispered, her eyes welling up. She quickly looked away from him and gazed up at the stars. "Yes, it was me."

He remained rooted to where he was standing, conflicted as to what he should do as he watched her struggle to hold her tears back.

_Kill her._

The voice of the Dark Fleet boss Shinzaki rang out in his head.

_It is agents like her that caused the Fleet to be in this vulnerable state. Even if she goes back, her loyalties are now in question. Don't let me question yours._

His body tensed up as he prepared himself to strike, but... he just couldn't bring himself to attack. It would be a lie to say that he wasn't torn.

He didn't know what made him move, but move he did - slowly, carefully - towards her. She didn't move away. He closed the gap between them, then tenderly, hesitantly put his hand on her shoulder.

She took one look at his ice blue eyes, and it was as if she had been transported back - back to that time when the pain was still fresh and they were both standing on this same spot. The dam holding back her tears broke, and the next thing she knew, Shimo's arms were wrapped tightly around her and her face was pressed hard against his shoulder as her tears freely flowed.

* * *

Amano Ginji stretched his arms and stifled a yawn. He was lying down on his stomach and resting his chin on his forearms, which he just realized was a position that was a little too comfortable as he found himself almost dozing off.

"Damn," Mido Ban, who was in a similar position next to him on his left, muttered. "Where the hell is Frosty?"

They were at the roof of the topmost level of the _Pristine_ just in front of the missile detection radar. This particular spot on the ship offered a great vantage point. Down below, they could see the balconies of the other deck levels, as each balcony protruded farther than the one above it.

The deck right below them had a good-sized sunroof, through which they could see the floor. They couldn't see anything else, but the dim light emanating through the sunroof and the reddish hues of the exotic hardwoord pyinkado that was used as the flooring gave the Get Backers the impression that it was another one of those elegantly designed rooms in this luxury yacht. It was hard to tell whether the room was empty or not, so the retrievers were being especially quiet just in case it wasn't.

"She said he would come," Ginji replied. "Maybe he just doesn't know yet that she's there."

In the darkness, just a few more decks below, they could make out Iarra's silhouette as she leaned forward against the railing of one of the balconies.

She was their bait.

Ban's original plan was that the Get Backers would show up once Shimo had appeared. It would've been simple, if not for Iarra's strange request - she had asked for some time alone with Shimo. Ban had objected, calling it risky - and suspicious.

_"Please," she said quietly, her eyes almost pleading. "This could be the last time I ever talk to him."_

_Ban sighed. He then looked at her, then said, "We need a signal to know when you're done so we can make a move."_

_Her eyes took on a grateful look before she nodded. "Yeah, I can give you some sort of gesture as a signal. What do you have in mind?"_

_Asking what was in Mido Ban's mind could sometimes be regretful, Iarra had just realized as she saw the dark-haired retriever's lips turn up into a wicked smile._

_"How about this?", he said, cupping both of his hands over his chest and making some squeezing motions._

_She gave him a sweet smile, then said, "How about if I raise my hand and give you a certain finger instead?"_

_Ban snickered. "That could work."  
_

_"I hope it's not your pinky," Ginji said, remembering Yosuke's gesture earlier. "It could be hard to see if you're far away."_

_She directed her overly sweet smile at the blond. "I wasn't referring to my pinky, Ginji."_

_"Oh," Ginji said, frowning in confusion._

_Judging from his partner's chuckle and the annoyance on Iarra's face as she looked back at Ban, Ginji knew he was missing something in this conversation.  
_

_"How about if you just raise your hand, Iarra-chan?", the blond then said. "It doesn't matter what finger you give us."_

_"I'm sure it doesn't," she said, smirking as she turned back to Ginji. She sighed. "Fine, I'll raise my hand." She then turned serious as she said, "But if Shimo starts attacking me, please don't wait for the damn signal."_

Ban and Ginji tensed up as the silver-haired agent finally appeared. They watched the two silhouettes as they just stood there, leaning against the railing. It looked like the two were talking.

_Well, that was what she asked for_, Ban thought.

Shimo and Iarra continued to talk. Ban strained his ears, but all he could hear were the sound of the wind blowing against him, the waves crashing against the hull of the big ship, and the low rumble of the ship's engine. He sighed. He couldn't help but wish that Thread Spool was here. Those strings would be pretty handy right about now.

"How long do you wanna chat, Dagger Babe?", Ban mumbled.

They then saw Shimo moving towards Iarra. Ban readied himself, but to his surprise, Shimo didn't attack her.

"Good grief,", he said, a frown forming on his face. "Are they... hugging?"

"Are you jealous?," Ginji asked.

Ban bonked him on the head, turning the blond into his tare form. "Why would I be, idiot?"

"Well," tare Ginji said. "I'M jealous."

The dark-haired retriever raised an eyebrow.

"I want a hug, too!," tare Ginji said, hurling himself at Ban and wrapping his chibi arms around his partner's neck.

"Sheesh," Ban muttered as he reluctantly subjected himself to the chibi's affections. He turned his attention back on the two silhouettes. "What're you waiting for, Dagger Babe? Now would be a good time to get the ring."

"I think she's crying, Ban-chan," Ginji said.

With strained eyes, Ban could barely make out Iarra's shoulder's heaving. He frowned again. It did seem like his partner was right.

* * *

He held her there, with Shimo resting his chin on Iarra's head long after her tears had subsided.

Finally, he sighed, and she felt his warm breath on her scalp.

"It's unfortunate," he said.

With her head still buried in his chest, she murmured, "What is?"

"That we meet again under these circumstances."

She sighed as well. "I agree."

There was a pause.

"I wish things were different," he said softly.

"I do, too."

Another pause.

Iarra felt his body tense up as he said, "Unfortunately, things are the way they are right now."

She raised her head and looked up at him.

"I really was happy to see you alive," he said as he looked into her eyes.

Iarra frowned at the word 'was'.

Shimo's face was emotionless as he said his next words.

"Now, I am about to see you dead."

* * *

The Get Backers were both resting their chins on their forearms again as they waited for Iarra's signal.

_They've been hugging for quite some time now_, Ban thought wryly as he watched the two silhouettes below.

Just then, through the sunroof on the deck right below them, the retrievers saw a group of Dark Fleet agents walk by across the pyinkado floor. Ginji gasped.

It was a quick glimpse, but it was unmistakable. The Dark Fleet agents were escorting Yosuke, Tomita Shunji's young assistant.

Ban took one look at his partner and knew exactly what he was thinking. "Ginji," he said. When the blond's head snapped up to him, he shook his head warningly. "Don't even think about it."

Ginji looked down at the sunroof, then back at his partner. "It won't take long." He started to go up on his knees as he put his hand in his tux pocket to check if Iarra's bead was still there.

"But Ginji!", Ban growled. "We still have a job to do."

The blond was already on his feet. "I know," Ginji answered. "I'll be back and we'll finish the job, Ban-chan. Don't worry."

"Ginji!", Ban barked, but his partner was already making his way towards the right edge of the roof. "Get back here!"

"It'll be okay, Ban-chan! I'll be quick." Ginji was just about to jump down to the deck below, when he turned back to his partner. "Oh," he added as an afterthought. "And take care of Iarra-chan. I told her we won't let anything bad happen to her."

"And why am I being held responsible for keeping your word?", Ban called out after him.

Ginji just smiled, then took off.

_Dammit_, he grumbled as he looked down again at balcony where Shimo and Iarra were.

To his utter surprise, the two silhouettes were gone, and a frozen wall jutted out from the outdoor pool, which had now completely turned into ice.

He inhaled sharply. _Shit. What the hell just happened?_

* * *

A/N: Hmmm... That first part turned out to be angsty, didn't it? Angst is not my strength, so I tried to stay away from it, but there was no escaping from it in this chapter :/ In light of this, this chapter's title, "Affannoso", is another musical directive. According to the music dictionary at Dolmetsch Online, it means "languishing, distressed, anguished, restless, mournful, anxious, sad..." In other words, angsty.


	17. Impetuoso

Disclaimer: Just in case you totally missed the last 16 disclaimers, let me say it again. I don't own GB.

* * *

**XVII. Impetuoso**

His face was emotionless as he said his next words.

"Now, I am about to see you dead."

Her eyes went wide.

Shimo pulled out his right dagger, and Iarra's instincts kicked in. She blocked his attack, catching his wrist with her left hand. She then quickly moved her thumb and pressed hard on a pressure point under his wrist which made him wince as he let go of his weapon. At the same time, she hit him under the jaw with the bottom of her right palm. The motion sent him leaning backwards, so she stepped right above his knee, took another step up to his hipbone, then stomped hard on his nose with her heel.

Reaching over her head with her elbows pointed to the sky, she swiftly pulled out the black daggers that were holstered at her back. Before Shimo even fell down, she had already stepped on the railing, her hands clasped tightly around her weapons in a defensive stance.

Shimo hit the deck boards with a thud, rolling to the side as he drew out his left dagger. He then quickly stood up and faced her.

There was a brief pause as their eyes met, a slight hesitation as they both saw the regret evident in each other's eyes.

Blood started to trickle down Shimo's nose, which he quickly wiped with the back of his right hand. He took a deep breath then exhaled, his eyes now taking on an expression of determination. He aimed his left dagger at her and sent an ice streak.

She quickly snapped to attention and flipped backwards to land on the outdoor lounge area right below. He summoned his right dagger and went after her, jumping over the railing. While he was in the air, Iarra aimed and sent fiery blasts from her own blades towards him.

_Get Backers_, she thought. _Now would be a good time to come out._

Before the streaks of fire were able to hit him, Shimo aimed his daggers at the pool, and the water responded by rising up into a wall and freezing instantly, shielding him from her flames. As he landed on the deck at the other side of the pool, he hurled his daggers towards her.

_Where the hell are those twerps?_, Iarra thought as she dodged.

* * *

_"Yosuke."_

Tomita's voice echoed in his head.

_"Hai," he had answered._

_"How much are you willing to sacrifice for the Kagerou-kai?", Tomita had asked him._

_The Kagerou-kai. The Yakuza clan that had taken him in when he had nothing. The only family he had ever known after the Volts._

_He had looked up at his boss, his mentor, the only father figure that he had ever had, and had answered, "Everything."_

_He remembered Tomita putting a hand on his shoulder and, almost affectionately, giving it a squeeze. He remembered it well, since it was a gesture that the boy had never experienced from his mentor._

_"Thank you, Yosuke," Tomita had whispered to him. "I always knew you could be counted on."_

A Dark Fleet squad marched silently in a two-column formation along one of the many corridors of the Pristine. Consistent with the luxury yacht's elegant design, the walls were covered in highly polished dark mahogany panels embellished with intricate veneer marquetry. The luxurious carpeting on this particular hallway masked the footsteps made by the agents, letting them move almost soundlessly along the hallway.

Right in the middle of the squad formation was Yosuke.

The young Yakuza's gaze fell over to his right hand, which had lost all feeling and had now turned completely blue. As he stared at the swollenness that surrounded the gash on his palm, he wondered if he had made the right choice in refusing to take the antidote.

It seemed like a simple decision at the time. It was so easy to say that he was willing to die for his clan, but now that he was actually facing it... He closed his eyes. He was terrified.

Back in Mugenjou, where death was always at an arm's reach, it didn't scare him as much. Being with the Volts meant that even though his life could be taken anytime, it wouldn't have been in vain. He knew that his contributions were small compared to the Lightning Emperor, the four Kings, and their lieutenants, but he felt that they at least mattered. Back then, he never felt like he was just a small fry. With the Volts, he felt that he was... valued.

Being with the Yakuza was very much different. He knew that he needed to start at the bottom; and being at the bottom meant that he wasn't as important as the ones above him. He understood that, but he refused to believe that just because he still needed to prove his worth, that he was worthless in the meantime.

Until now.

Telling Dark Fleet where he had last seen the Get Backers and that ex-agent did not even matter. Yes, he wanted to prove his loyalty to the Yakuza, and in the process had betrayed the Lightning Emperor. And for what? The fact that his mentor didn't even fight for him, and just seemed to readily accept his fate... He clenched his swollen fist.

Well, maybe it was true. Maybe he really was worthless after all - just a stupid kid from Mugenjou who's trying to be somebody greater than he really was.

Yosuke's thoughts were interrupted by the tongue-clucking sound coming from the squad leader, who was at the rear of the formation. The men surrounding Yosuke halted. They then turned to face their leader, alert and ready for his next instruction.

The leader made a series of arm and hand signals. The two Dark Fleet agents that were closest to the leader then moved towards the corner of the corridor while the rest of the squad pulled out their daggers and prepared themselves to attack.

The two agents reached the edge of the corner. They paused, then lunged suddenly, disappearing around the corner in a surprise attack. The rest of the squad heard the sound of sizzles, then grunts, then shuffling sounds, then soft thuds. One of the agents dropped face down around the corner.

A few gasps could be heard from some of the agents. The Dark Fleet squad quickly recovered then raised their daggers in various attack stances. The squad leader raised his left fist, which was a signal for them to freeze. They obeyed.

With his eyes set on the corner, the squad leader barked, "Show yourself!"

After a few moments of silence, the intruder finally complied and took a few steps from behind the corner and faced them.

Yosuke gasped. "Ginji-san," he whispered.

Amano Ginji smiled at him. He then set his brown eyes on the squad leader and asked, "What're you planning to do to Yosuke?"

The leader responded with, "Who the hell is Yosuke?"

"That would be me, moron," the Yakuza assistant said.

The agent beside Yosuke struck the boy on the head with the pommel of his dagger. It wasn't a full-powered hit, but it was enough to bring Yosuke to his knees as he groaned in pain.

"You better watch your mouth, kid," the agent said.

Sparks started to coil around Ginji's body as he glared at the agent. "You didn't need to do that." He raised his hand, and a streak of electricity shot out from his palm and hit the agent squarely on the chest. The agent fell down with a thud.

The squad quickly snapped to attention and started to throw their daggers at the blond retriever, who raised his other hand in response. Soon, a protective electromagnetic field surrounded him, blocking the flying daggers and rendering them useless.

Ginji grinned. He then fired bright blasts of pure white energy toward each of the two columns in the Dark Fleet agents' formation. The first three men in each of the columns all fell down. The squad leader, who was standing between the two columns, quickly turned around, dragging Yosuke up from the floor and making the boy stand in front of him. He drew out his dagger and positioned its edge over Yosuke's throat.

"Stop, or the boy dies," the squad leader said.

Ginji's grin disappeared and his brown eyes were now filled with animosity as he looked back at the squad leader.

"Don't worry about me, Ginji-san," Yosuke said.

Ginji's eyes softened as he turned his gaze towards his old friend. The shield surrounding the retriever started to fade.

"Just save yourself. It's ok," the young Yakuza said. With a whisper, he said, "I'm not worth it."

The intensity of the electromagnetic shield continued to decrease until it completely disappeared.

"No, no, no," Yosuke whispered, shaking his head at his former Emperor.

With one quick movement, the dagger that was under Yosuke's chin was hurled towards the retriever. Yosuke gasped.

Ginji reacted by ducking and dropping down on one knee, but before he could make his next move, a flurry of daggers from the remaining Dark Fleet agents closed in on him.

"GINJI-SAAAN!", Yosuke cried out.

* * *

Scorch marks ran across the once immaculately spotless ivory-colored carpet. At one end of the room, shards of broken glass that were previously part of the sliding door to the outdoor lounge littered the floor; glistening among them were crystalline fragments of ice.

The metallic chinking of blades reverberated through the main salon of the Pristine, followed by a thud as a pair of booted feet landed on the white solid marble coffee table. The booted feet got busy rather quickly as one of them hooked itself underneath the arched neck of the black stone sculpture of a bird that was perched on the coffee table, giving the lifeless bird the gift of flight as it flew towards the man with the silver hair.

Shimo responded by ducking and shooting razor-sharp slivers of ice towards Iarra. Iarra somersaulted from the coffee table, leaping over the cream-colored easy chair. She then found herself running towards the other side of the room to avoid the barrage of icy bullets that Shimo was now sending her way. When she reached the bar, she jumped over the onyx granite countertop and took cover.

The bar was situated at the farthest corner of the room, close to the sliding doors, with the countertop immediately adjacent to the wall. Iarra cursed as she realized that she had just trapped herself.

The torrent of ice pellets stopped, and Iarra knew that it was only a matter of time before Shimo took advantage of her limited maneuverability. She needed something with much more firepower than what her black daggers could provide. She quickly looked around to see what her next course of action should be.

Bottles of various types of alcohol were stored on the shelves underneath the counter: whiskey, tequila, vodka, brandy, rum, and... Her eyes lit up as they landed on a particular bottle. She held the handles of her daggers in between her left fingers as her right hand reached for her new weapon, a bottle of 190-proof Everclear (1).

Crunch...

It was the sound of Shimo's boots crushing against the broken glass on the floor.

Crunch...

She could sense him getting closer to the bar, to where she was. She gripped her weapons tighter and braced herself.

Before she could make her move, however, she heard a grunt, followed by a loud crash. Cautiously, she peered over the counter. The hint of a smile came over her face as she saw the familiar spiky hair and purple glasses.

Mido Ban was adjusting his glasses, surveying the hole in the wall where Shimo had flown through when he noticed Iarra peeking over the bar countertop to his left. He smirked. "What're you doing cowering back there?"

Iarra stood up straight and glared. "I wasn't cowering. I was taking cover." She then put down the bottle of potent alcohol on the counter.

"While having a drink, too," Ban said, raising an eyebrow. "Wow, I'm impressed."

She opened her mouth in protest. "I wasn't... This isn't...," she stammered, then stopped. "Never mind." She glared again. "Where've you been, anyway? You're late."

"Well, I didn't see you make the signal," Ban pointed out.

She raised her right hand and gave him a certain finger. "Do you see it now?"

Ban snickered. "Yeah, it's actually much clearer from here."

"I have to say that this new friendship that you have seems quite odd," Shimo said as he emerged from the hole in the wall, his eyes on Iarra as he stepped over the debris.

Iarra gave the silver-haired agent a smirk. "At least he's not trying to kill me."

"Not right now, no," Ban said. "Although I can't say that the thought never crossed my mind."

Iarra gave Ban a look that said 'Very funny'.

"Iarra," Shimo said. "I do not take pleasure in doing this..."

"Then stop," Iarra interrupted.

Shimo smiled. "...But I was given orders."

"By Shinzaki?," she asked.

Shimo's last conversation with the Dark Fleet boss flashed through his mind. He had a new role in Dark Fleet now, a role that was very crucial to the organization's success. He set his jaw as he looked back at Iarra. He had to do whatever it took to ensure that his mission would be accomplished. There was no holding back now.

Iarra saw the change in Shimo's eyes. It was clear in how he looked at her that he had already made his decision and was now regarding her as an enemy. Whatever hesitation he had a while ago had already been pushed back and had been replaced by grim determination.

He really was going to kill her.

Shimo said, "You should already know how this goes, Iarra. It's not much different from what you've been doing." He bore his ice blue eyes into her and said, "You, of all people, should understand."

She clenched her fists tightly around the handles of her daggers. The berating tone in his voice pierced into her, and it hurt more than any other physical injury that she had ever experienced.

"You should be assured, though," Shimo continued. "... that I wouldn't be as careless as you were during that mission with The Ram."

Ban stood silently, watching as the two former comrades eyed each other. He had no idea what that mission was about, but judging from the look in Iarra's face, he knew that Shimo had just hit a nerve.

In a low, quiet voice, she told him, "Alright, Shimo." She met his gaze steadily. "If this is how you think things should be..." Her blades glowed red as if reflecting the anger that started to simmer within her. "... then so be it."

She swiftly leapt up with her arms spread out like the wings of an eagle. Flames were already dancing around her blades as she landed on the countertop in an eagle stance. As soon as her feet made contact with the granite countertop, she swung both her arms in an underhand arc, aiming the tips of her daggers towards Shimo. A fireball formed and startled hurtling towards the Dark Fleet agent.

Shimo crossed his glowing blue daggers across his chest, forming another ice wall and just barely avoided being hit by the fiery cannonball. He then spread out his arms, and the wall of ice quickly expanded to fill the entire length of the room, separating him from Ban and Iarra.

Iarra did not let that stop her. She sent dazzling arcs of fire to the base of the ice wall, making the ivory carpet burst into flames. She then jumped down from the bar countertop, reached behind her for the bottle containing the clear highly flammable liquid, then hurled it towards the area where the blaze was strongest. The bottle hit the wall, breaking into several pieces. Another ball of flame flew towards the bottle just a millisecond after it broke, setting off a fiery explosion that shook the entire room.

Ban quickly got down and put his arms over his head to shield himself from the debris. The debris had not even settled when he heard the sound of somebody running. When he looked up, he saw a dark silhouette running through the smoke and the flames.

"Iarra!", he yelled.

She ignored him. Ban cursed as he got up to run after her.

The room was now in complete disarray. The blast had created a gaping hole in the floor, as well as an opening in the ice wall. The ice also started to crack in other places as the weakened floor struggled to hold up its weight. It was hard to see through the smoke, but Ban was able to make out the red glow from Iarra's blades, which he used to navigate through the murky air as he jumped over the overturned couches, leapt over the hole in the floor, and ran through the gap in the ice wall.

He soon found himself in a long corridor. Up ahead, he could see Iarra viciously shooting long fiery streaks at Shimo, who dodged her attacks by somersaulting, even sometimes landing on one side of the wall to jump to the other. Ban could tell that the Dark Fleet agent was concentrating all of his energy on evading her shots.

Iarra watched Shimo's movements very closely as she continued delivering lash after lash of whip-like flames. Just as Shimo leapt up, she zeroed in on a particular area along the corridor and threw one of her daggers there.

Shimo gasped as he realized that the weapon was heading towards the space where he was about to land, to his chest area to be exact. He twisted his body in midair, just narrowly avoiding the blade as he landed hard on his back. He had just scarcely gained his bearings when he saw her other dagger flying towards him. He rolled out of the way just in time. The black daggers then flew up in the air, back into their owner's hands.

Shimo was now past the end of the corridor, which had opened up into a receiving area. He hastily got up and dashed towards the far end of the receiving area and quickly disappeared behind ornate swinging double doors. Iarra darted after him, pushing the doors to continue her chase.

Ban ran as well to catch up to the two. He swung the double doors fowards, rushed in, then stopped.

Iarra was standing on the expensive-looking hardwood floor right in the middle of the room. Right above her, hanging from the elaborately carved wood ceiling was a huge magnificent crystal chandelier. Surrounding the open space where Iarra was were several round empty tables covered in white linen, and around the tables were gold chiavari chairs.

The room, which looked like a ballroom from the Victorian era, was stunning.

At the top of the grand staircase in front of Iarra was Shimo. The two former friends just stood there, their eyes fixed on each other with their fingers wrapped tightly around their daggers.

Ban realized now what made Iarra stop. Held up by eight massive white columns was an upper balcony that wrapped around the room. The balcony was filled with Dark Fleet agents, all with weapons drawn and ready to attack at Shimo's command.

* * *

A/N: This chapter's title "Impetuoso" is another musical directive to instruct the musician to perform in a vehement or impetuous manner. I think you can guess who turned vehement and impetuous in this chapter.

(1) Everclear is a grain alcohol that comes in 190-proof concentrations, which is 95% alcohol. In 1979, it entered the Guiness Book of World Records as the most alcoholic drink. As mentioned in this chapter, it's HIGHLY flammable. Because of its high alcohol content, it's illegal in a lot of places in the world. And where it's illegal, smuggling abounds :) I thought it just made sense that a smuggling ship would have it.

To Atropos' Knife:

Hey, no need to apologize. I'm just glad to hear from you :)

"the amount of angst is just right" - A big PHEW! to that. Seriously, I edited and re-edited and re-re-edited some more to get it just right, so I'm glad it turned out okay. Yeah, I'm more comfortable with Action-Romance than Angst hehehe.

I know what you mean about Shimo-Iarra, and let's just say that it's not totally unintentional hehehe. It was an idea that I was toying around with as I was thinking about their history. I wanted it to be a special kind of friendship, but that could be taken to mean a variety of different things hehehe :)

About Ban's gesture... That was actually added at the last minute. It came to me just the day before I published the chapter. I thought, that was SOOO Ban. How could I not include that? LOL

To The Spider's Parlor:

Oh, don't you just LOVE essays? I miss those days... NOT! I totally sympathize with you. You don't have to worry, though. Your reviews are almost like essays, so I'm sure you'll do fine ;) Can't really help you with math, though.

I'm glad you enjoyed that fight scene! Good to know I've improved on that.

"Also, my scanner's a piece of crap, so, technical error prevents me from complying." - Suuuuurrre. I blame your scanner, then :P

"battle capable maiden of war" - I like the sound of that hehe :) Thanks for the suggestions on which body parts to target ;) You seem to know a lot about this stuff hehe. A variation in her fighting style is something that I've been actually thinking of, so you'll be glad to know that it's currently in the works.

The politics of DF... Uhhhh... That's something that I'm sort of figuring out as I go along. Yeah, that wasn't very helpful hehe :)

Okay, let's try that again. The politics of DF... Since I don't have a very detailed picture in my mind right now, let me just tell you the general idea. Dark Fleet is an international smuggling organization, so its main goal is to make money. It functions like a big corporation in that it makes business deals and has business partners and what-not. I look at its fighting division as sort of like a military unit. Some elite fighters can control certain elements, yes. I thought that was just being consistent with the GB universe, where the good fighters all have their own "powers", so to speak. I have some basic thoughts on how that fits in with DF (how they get these abilities, how they train, etc...), but I still haven't really worked it out. The details are still changing as the story unfolds, and I don't want to contradict myself later on, so it's probably better to leave it at that for now hehe.

Hey, I enjoy your long and winded reviews, so keep 'em coming! :)


	18. Spiccato

Disclaimer: It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas! I've asked Santa for the ownership rights to GB for Christmas. So until then, I don't own GB. (Hey, a girl can hope, right? :)

* * *

**XVIII. Spiccato**

Iarra was standing on the hardwood floor in the middle of the Victorian-style ballroom. On the upper balcony surrounding her were squads of Dark Fleet agents that had their weapons drawn. She did not pay any attention to them, however, for she had her eyes locked on her former friend who was at the top of the grand staircase right in front of her.

"What's the matter, Shimo?," she asked. "Can't fight me one-on-one?"

The silver-haired agent chuckled. "You seem to have forgotten who was the victor in our last fight, Iarra."

She bore her eyes into his. "Wanna see if you can do that again?"

Shimo smiled. "We will see it soon enough," he answered. "This is just a little something that I prepared for your new friends..." He glanced over at the retriever who had just stepped beside Iarra. "...to keep them from interfering."

He then turned his smile to the spiky-haired Get Backer. "I'm surprised you came alone, Mido Ban. I was expecting two of you."

Ban just waved his hand dismissingly. "Oh, he'll show up, don't you worry."

Iarra frowned at Ban, her face asking the unspoken question, 'Where is he?'

Ban just gave her a meaningful look, which made Iarra's frown grow deeper. After a while, her frown was replaced by a look of realization.

"Yosuke?", she whispered to him.

Ban nodded. "The idiot," he muttered.

"Since your partner's not here," Shimo said, interrupting them. "I'm afraid I may have gone overboard. Three squads might be a little bit too much for you."

"Heh," Ban snorted. "One of ME might be a little bit too much for you," he corrected him.

Shimo smiled, amused. "We shall see." He turned back to Iarra. "I'll be waiting for you in the _Tranquility_. We can continue where we left off over there."

"Why not fight me here and now?", Iarra challenged him.

Shimo looked straight at her before answering, "There are still some things that need to be said - things that should not be heard by other ears."

She frowned at him, puzzled, her eyes following him as he turned his back to her and made his way towards the wall that was right behind him.

It was then that Ban noticed that a section of the wall extended a little farther than the others. On both sides of the protruding wall were two slender white columns.

Shimo made his way over to the column on his right, then turned to Iarra, "I'll be waiting for you." Looking directly into her eyes, he said with a smirk, "There would be no innocents around, just you and me, so there's no need to worry about unintended fatalities." He then snickered, saying, "Except yours, perhaps."

Ban glanced over at Iarra and saw her eyes narrow into slits as anger started to churn once again inside her. He then flicked his eyes back to Shimo in time to see the silver-haired agent disappear behind one of the white columns. What looked like just an architectural detail was apparently a cleverly hidden cover for an opening in the wall.

Iarra gripped her daggers more tightly and was about to take a step when Ban's arm shot out in front of her, blocking her movement. The anger in her eyes were soon directed at the retriever.

"What the hell, Mido?", she growled.

Still keeping his arm in front of her, he peered over his purple glasses to look at her and said, "You need to calm down."

"You need to stay out of it."

Locking his piercing blue gaze on her, he said calmly but firmly, "This isn't your fight, Iarra."

"What're you talking about?," she asked irritatedly. "He's after me, Mido."

"The last time you fought him didn't turn out so well."

Her blades started to glow red. "It won't happen again." She then said in a threateningly low voice, "Now, step aside, Mido."

Ban didn't move, but continued to meet her gaze uncompromisingly. "So you're gonna kill him this time?"

She didn't answer.

"This isn't your fight, Iarra," he repeated. Before she could say another word to challenge that statement, Ban continued, "The ring is the Get Backers' target, not yours. Remember?"

She continued to glare at him, but he met her gaze unwaveringly. He could sense her clenching her fists around the handles of her daggers, her hands shaking slightly with the strain. Finally, she closed her eyes and cursed under her breath, and her blades went back into their original black color.

"The _Tranquility_ is a room three decks right below us," she said softly. Taking a deep breath, she opened her eyes, which were no longer smoldering with anger, and directed her gaze at him. "Go get him. I'll take care of these goons."

Ban smiled briefly, then nodded. He put his hands into his pockets and had just taken one step forward when he heard her softly call his name.

"Mido," she said.

He stopped and turned to look at her. She seemed to hesitate, which made Ban raise an eyebrow.

"Be careful." She paused, then very quietly, almost with a whisper, she added, "Don't let yourself get hit, okay?"

He looked back at her then gave her a lopsided smile. "Awww, really? But I was sooo looking forward to getting sliced into pieces."

She rolled her eyes and shook her head in half-irritation, half-amusement.

With the smile still on his face, Ban turned back and faced the wall where Shimo disappeared to. Using his superhuman speed, he then suddenly appeared at the top of the staircase.

The Dark Fleet squads snapped to attention. Ban sprung high up into the air to avoid the daggers that were now flying towards him. He dropped down to the floor. He was about to leap again to evade the second round of flying daggers when suddenly, a pair of black blades appeared at his sides, curving upwards to hit the other daggers. Soon, the other daggers fell down on the floor beside him, while the black ones made their way back into Iarra's hands.

Ban met Iarra's eyes briefly and gave her a small nod of acknowledgment. She nodded back, then mouthed the word 'Go'. He then stood up and quickly disappeared into the opening behind the protruding wall.

Two agents who were in the act of throwing their daggers at the Get Backer both fell to the floor before their weapons even left their hands. Black blades could be seen protruding from their shoulders.

The agents' daggers all flew back toward their respective owners. Anticipating herself to be their next target, Iarra already had her silver daggers drawn out. She stretched her arms wide, with the tips of her daggers pointing up to the ceiling as she shifted her weight to her right leg in a drop stance.

To her surprise, the agents stopped attacking. She looked around and noticed that they were all looking at one particular person as if they were waiting for a cue. She followed their gaze to the part of the balcony that was at the back of the room facing the grand staircase.

The person they were looking at was a red-haired girl wearing the uniform of a Dark Fleet elite agent.

* * *

Amano Ginji weakly opened his eyes. As his senses awakened, he slowly became aware that he was being dragged across a dark hallway. He blinked and looked up at one of the men that had his arms over his shoulder and frowned.

"Shido?", he said, blinking again. "Is that you?"

The man glanced at him, then turned to look at the other man that was holding the blond Get Backer. Ginji followed his gaze and gasped as he saw the familiar long flowy hair.

"Kazu-chan!", he said. "What are you two doing here?"

They didn't reply, but just looked at each other, then continued walking.

Ginji tried to get on his feet, but found that his body still felt heavy. "What's wrong, Shido? Why aren't you saying anything?", Ginji asked as he limped along the two men.

They stopped in front of a metal door, which they then opened. The two men walked in, dragging Ginji with them. They then released their hold on him, making him drop down on his knees.

Ginji moaned as he hit the floor. With a wince still on his face, he turned his head to look back at them. "Shido! Kazu-chan! Why aren't you answering me?"

They gave him one last look before closing the metal door.

Ginji stared at the metal door, his brown eyes full of confusion. He summoned what's left of his strength to get up, then banged the bottom of his fists on the door. "Kazu-chan! Shido! What're you doing?"

There was still no answer. He let his head droop, leaning his forehead against the door as he closed his eyes. He groaned as he felt the throbbing pain in his head. He turned his back to the door and found himself slumping back down to the floor.

_What's going on?_, he wondered.

He opened his eyes, intending to survey his surroundings. What he saw made him gasp.

_Before him was a mound of rubble - gray concrete slabs that used to be parts of ruined buildings._

Ginji blinked.

_In the distance, he heard the sound of children's laughter._

_A little boy ran up from the other side of the mound with a colorful ball in his hands, laughing. A group of young kids then appeared behind the boy, giggling as they tried to take the ball away from him._

_"Hey!," a voice to Ginji's right said._

Ginji turned his head to the sound. His eyes grew wide. "Shuu?"

_"Be careful up there!", Shuu said to the kids. "Don't want you to get hurt!"_

"Shuu!", Ginji cried out.

_Shuu turned to him and smiled. "Ginji-san! Maybe you should tell them. They listen to you more."_

_"Well, if you weren't such a dork, THEN maybe they'll listen to you," another voice to Ginji's left said._

Ginji turned to his left, and and furrowed his brows. "Yosuke?"

_"Dork?," Shuu said, glaring at the other boy. "Who're you calling dork?"_

_Yosuke laughed, his stringy unkempt hair swaying with the motion. "Look in the mirror and you'll see who it is."_

_"Oh, yeah? Have YOU even looked in the mirror lately?"_

Ginji listened to the melodious sounds of laughter around him, his confused mind trying to make sense of it all. He remembered this scene. It happened years ago, back when he was still with the Volts in Mugenjou. His frown deepened. Why was he reliving it now?

* * *

She was about Iarra's age, and had long red hair that was braided at the back, with wavy wisps of hair that framed her face.

Iarra had never seen her before. She lowered her weapons, straighened herself up and looked directly at the elite agent. "I guess you're the one in charge?"

She smirked. "Correct."

Iarra smirked back. "I don't believe we've met. I'm Iarra, by the way."

"I know who you are."

Iarra raised an eyebrow.

"I've been compared to you so many times," the redhead said. Her eyes then narrowed into a glare. "TOO many times."

"I guess you don't like that."

"Correct again." She looked down at Iarra with contempt in her eyes. "I am nothing like you."

Iarra waited for her to say more, but she didn't. "Okay," she said. "So are you gonna tell me your name? Or should I make one up for you?"

The smirk reappeared. "It's Nomi," she said as she looked back at her.

Iarra smiled at her. "Pleased to meet you, Nomi."

She snickered. "I don't think you will be for long, so you can spare me the pleasantries."

Iarra continued to smile, amused. "Alright," she said. She then shifted her right leg back, saying, "If you insist." She then crossed her daggers in front of her. "Why don't you come down here and get this over with?"

Nomi gave Iarra her own amused smile as she said, "Oh, I will..." She then extended her left arm. "... after you survive this."

She flicked her wrist, and the squad to her left responded by delivering a barrage of flying blades towards Iarra.

* * *

Two Dark Fleet agents closed the metal door. A moment later, they heard pounding from the other side of the door.

"Kazu-chan! Shido! What're you doing?"

They didn't answer, but just looked at each other.

"So that was the Lightning Emperor, huh?", one of them said.

"Yes," a voice behind them said.

The two Dark Fleet agents turned around and looked straight into the eyes of the squad leader that had just had an encounter with the blond retriever.

"Leader of the Volts, the most terrifying gang in Mugenjou when they were at their peak," the squad leader continued.

The second agent snickered. "He doesn't look that terrifying right now."

"Of course not," the leader said. "Not after that dose of Delirium that we gave him." (1) He turned to the second agent. "You weren't here when he first attacked our squad. He took down six of us with one attack." He looked back at the metal door. "Which is why I opted to use Delirium. If we can't beat him physically, let's break him down mentally." He then smiled. "We should let Shimo-san know that one of the retrievers has been captured."

* * *

She started with a backflip. What came after that was a rapid series of somersaults, crouches, and high leaps - quick and unpredictable movements that made her a difficult target for the Dark Fleet agents.

Iarra had now reached the top of the grand staircase. With a feral grin, she turned to the attacking squad and charged. She easily blocked the blades that flew towards her, flinging them out of her way with the silver daggers that were in her hands. In a split second, she was within an arm's reach of the first agent in the squad's line formation.

That first agent did not remain standing for very long. She slashed at his midsection, then rammed into him with her shoulder, shoving him hard against the agent that was right behind him. She then vaulted over them, landing on one knee in between two agents.

As soon as her feet made contact, she spread her arms, switching her hold on her weapons into an underhanded grip. She then stabbed the two agents on their legs. As they involuntarily bent down in response to the pain, she flicked her wrists and struck both of them hard under their chins with the pommels of her daggers as she straightened herself up, lifting one knee up in a crane stance.

The next agent thrust his left dagger at Iarra, but she pivoted on her front foot, effortlessly dodging the attack as she stepped closer. She pivoted again on the opposite foot, which quickly positioned her right behind her attacker. He still had his attacking arm outstretched when she plunged her left dagger straight up under his left shoulder. Ignoring his scream, she jabbed her other dagger under his right shoulder.

The squad on the opposite side of the room had started attacking as well, launching more flying blades across the room towards Iarra. They soon realized, however, that doing so wasn't a good idea.

She was now using her silver daggers, which were wedged tightly under the arms of the immobilized agent, as handgrips to control said agent's position. The unfortunate agent then found himself the unwilling recipient of his comrades' assault.

The agent that was closest to Iarra had now had enough of her use of his squadmate as a makeshift shield. He jumped up high and flipped forward over Iarra's head. While he was in the air, he threw his dagger towards her back.

In response, she sank low to the floor in a falling stance, pulling her captive over her shoulder, letting him droop against her back and inadvertently still shielding her from the other agent's dagger. She quickly released her hold on her makeshift handgrips and reached for his legs, hoisting them off the floor. She then threw him at the attacking agent as she straightened up into a bow stance and summoned her daggers at the same time.

She leapt high again, dodging the daggers hurled by the remaining agents in the squad. She grinned as their weapons hit the guy that attempted to hit her from behind. While in the air, she threw her own daggers at them, hitting two of them squarely on the shoulders. The four smaller daggers that were concealed inside her boot tops then flew into her hands. She landed on the floor with two daggers in each of her hands, their blades protruding between her fingers, which she then threw at the rest of the agents. All the agents in the squad were now down.

The other squad at the opposite side of the room took that as their cue to resume their attack, delivering another torrent of sharp blades her way.

* * *

_"Ginji-san!"_

_With a playful smile, the little boy threw the ball at him._

Ginji stood up, held out his hand and caught it. He looked down at the ball in his hands and inhaled sharply.

_The ball had suddenly morphed into a human skull._

With a start, Ginji dropped the skull to the ground. He looked up and his heart lurched at the sight in front of him.

_The mound of broken concrete had turned into a mound of charred bodies. The sky had grown dark, as if daylight had fled in horror._

_He was now alone._

He remembered this scene as well - remembered the smell of burnt flesh wafting up to his nostrils, the fading screams of people trying to run away from the carnage, and the dull ache in his heart as he looked at the destruction that surrounded him - the destruction that he had caused.

It was the aftermath of the Lightning Emperor's wrath.

Ginji shut his eyes tightly and shook his head, as if to shake himself from the nightmare.

_What is this?_, he thought with despair. _This can't be happening._

* * *

Iarra stepped onto the balcony railing, and used it as her launching point to spring herself up to the chandelier in the middle of the room, grabbing the solid hand-made brass chain that attached the huge light fixture to the ornately carved ceiling.

The chandelier swung, causing the shadows in the room to sway with the motion. She set her feet on one of the branches of the chandelier, then immediately took off when the crystalline pendulum reached its highest point. She twisted her body in midair to avoid the stream of daggers that were now hurtling towards her.

She had already summoned her silver daggers when she implanted her feet into the heads of two Dark Fleet agents. They both dropped down with a thud. The next scene was a whirl of black as Iarra wove herself in and out of the Dark Fleet squad formation, leaving a trail of knocked out agents behind her until all of the agents in that squad were also down.

Nomi watched silently with an unimpressed expression on her face as Iarra twirled her silver daggers before holstering them back into the sheaths at her hips. Iarra then held out her hands and caught the four smaller daggers that came flying towards her.

"So...", Iarra said as she lifted her knees one at a time to put the smaller blades back into her boots. She gave the redhead a satisfied smile. "I survived. What now?"

Nomi's lips turned up into a smirk. "Now you get to fight another elite."

"Oh, goody," Iarra replied sarcastically. "Can't wait."

"Don't get so proud of yourself just yet," the elite agent said as she stepped forward from the last remaining squad's formation. "Dark Fleet fighting techniques have changed a lot since you've been gone. You might be surprised."

"Oh, I am," Iarra agreed as she summoned her black daggers and holstered them at her back. "I'm surprised at how they've degenerated substantially."

Nomi glowered, saying, "I hope you find those words tasty, Old-Timer, since you will be eating them once we're done."

She flipped forwards over the balcony railing and landed on the hardwood floor below. She then looked up at Iarra.

"Well?", she said, a sinister grin forming on her features. "What're you waiting for? Come on down here so we can see how your outmoded techniques stack up against modern ones."

* * *

_"You're back!"_

Ginji looked up. The mound of burnt bodies have disappeared, and he now found himself in a dark and enclosed room.

_"You're back, Ginji-san!"_

It was Shuu again.

_A big smile was plastered on the boy's face as he looked back at the blond._

_"This is great!," Shuu was saying. "Ginji-san is back. We're reviving the Volts, right?"_

Ginji stared at him. Yes, he remembered this scene as well. This was when he first returned to Mugenjou for the IL recovery mission.

_Shuu's face went from an expression of exuberance to that of dismay. "We're not reviving the Volts?" It then went from dismay to anger. "Do you even know? Do you know what happened to us after you went away? And what's going on within Mugenjou? What Maxubex is about to start?"_

Dread started to fill Ginji's eyes. He knew what was going to happen next. It was a horrible scene that had etched itself firmly in his mind, a memory that he really did not want to relive.

_Sharp blades suddenly came flying and hit Shuu straight in the chest._

"NOOOOOO!", Ginji screamed.

Sparks started to form around his hands.

It had been some time now since Shuu had been gone, but grief and anger started to fill his heart once again - grief, for losing his dear friend who just wished to live a peaceful life among the people of Lower Town; and anger, anger at the monster who took Shuu right before his very eyes, but most of all, anger at himself for not being able to do anything about it.

The sparks around his hands intensified, forming flashes of lightning that shot across the room as he cried out in anguish.

Ginji dropped down on his knees and buried his face in his hands. That day, he was harshly reminded that there were some things that just could not be retrieved, and it was a hard truth that the retriever found tough to accept.

_"My time with the Volts..."_

Another voice broke into his thoughts.

_"Those were the best times of my life. I was a part of something - something meaningful - like I was actually contributing to something bigger than myself."_

Ginji looked up.

_Yosuke was standing right in front of him. His hair was no longer disheveled, but was now neatly trimmed and combed back. A sharp-looking tuxedo had also replaced the shabby clothes that he wore when he was still in Mugenjou._

It was a more recent memory this time. He remembered vividly the look of depair in Yosuke's eyes as the boy spoke.

_"And then suddenly... it was gone. After the Volts were dissolved, I felt... lost."_

It was the brokenness evident in Yosuke's voice that brought that familiar ache in Ginji's chest, and it was this ache that stirred within his heart that deep desire to protect people, to keep them safe and happy, which had then spurred him on back when he was still leading the Volts.

It was still spurring him on now as a Get Backer.

With renewed determination, he lifted his chin up, his brown eyes now filled with fired up tenacity.

Yes, there were some things that could not be retrieved, BUT... there were some things that still could be.

Ginji wasn't sure what exactly he was experiencing - whether this was some kind of virtual reality similar to what Mugenjou had, whether he was under a spell, or just plain hallucinating - but whatever it was, he thought as he set his jaw in determination, he had to break out of it.

He had to. Yosuke's life depended on it.

* * *

A/N: This chapter's title, "Spiccato", is a bowing technique where the bow bounces lightly on the strings of an orchestral stringed instrument (violin, viola, cello, stringed bass), creating a sound where each note is separated from the others. The term comes from an Italian verb that means "to separate", so I thought this was an appropriate title since everybody's now separated.

The stances that Iarra uses in this chapter are all wushu stances. You can check out pics from the all-knowing internet to see what those look like. I used some wushu styles here, not just because I think they look cool, but also because I have a bit of a backstory on why Iarra knows them.

(1) Just to refresh your memory (which I need myself every once in a while), Delirium was first mentioned in Chapter 9. Wow, that seems like a lifetime ago. It just goes to show you how fast I update.

P.S.

Speaking of update speeds... I am crazy busy this month, so I'm anticipating that I would only be able to get the next chapter out next month (most likely late next month), which happens to be next year. Sooo... thanks in advance to those who have kept reading up to this point. I hope you continue to follow this fic, as I do have intentions of finishing it.

Have a merry Christmas and a happy new year!

To Atropos' Knife:

Yeah, I've heard stories about Everclear, which sort of served as "inspiration" for that scene :P

I don't know if you would call this the "big climax" (don't wanna get your hopes up!), but yeah, we are nearing the end of the story. Unfortunately, "back-to-back Ban-Iarra badassery" would have to come at another time. I first thought of that as well, but changed it in an attempt to be unpredictable hehe :) It's more work for me, though, since now I have to write separate scenes. Why I choose to make things more complicated, I have no idea.

Yep, we've pretty much explored the whole yacht - except for one more room, where Ban's fight will be at. I'm still working on the details at the moment.

And yes, Ginji's gonna have some fun after the angst. Yeah, I have angst again in this chapter. What's up with that?


	19. Più Mosso

Disclaimer: Nope, I didn't get GB ownership rights in my Christmas stocking.

* * *

**XIX. Più mosso**

Iarra grabbed the top of the balcony railing with her right hand then jumped sideways, swinging her legs over the railing. She landed on the hardwood floor, straightened herself up, then eyed the red-headed elite agent, her new adversary, who was standing right across from her.

The last Dark Fleet squad that remained stood motionless on the balcony at the back of the ballroom as they silently watched the fight that was about to take place.

Slowly, guardedly, the two fighters drew their weapons, and the only thing that could be heard was the high-pitched metallic sound of unsheathing daggers.

* * *

Mido Ban opened the door to an unmarked room, which he believed should be the _Tranquility_. Since this particular room was in the lower decks, which was the smuggler's area that was hidden from most of the luxury yacht's guests, he didn't know what to expect, but it definitely was not whatever greeted his eyes.

The walls were white, and solid white beams soared above the room in various directions, creating patterns that somehow soothed the eyes. White steps led down from the door towards a white pathway filled with smooth sleet gray stones. The pathway surrounded a black-bottom pool of water that started at the center of the room and ended at the back, where water cascaded down over stacked limestones. The soft sound of trickling water permeated the room, giving the room a relaxing and peaceful feel.

_This is where he wants to fight?_, Ban wondered.

"Mido Ban."

Ban looked up to where the sound came from and saw Shimo sitting cross-legged on an overhead beam at one corner of the room.

"What a surprise," the silver-haired Dark Fleet agent said. "I wasn't expecting you to come."

"Didn't mean to disappoint you, Frosty," Ban responded. He then gave him a smirk. "...But you should be thanking me."

"And why is that?"

"I just saved your ass."

Shimo's eyebrows shot up. "Ohh? How so?"

"Looks like you've been playing with ice too much that it's given you some serious brain freeze," Ban said, chuckling. "... but you should know that riling her up is a good way to speed up your meeting with the afterlife." He smirked. "It's not gonna end well for you if she were here instead of me, so you should be happy."

It was Shimo's turn to chuckle. "Are you implying that it'll end well for me now that you're here?"

"Oh, I'm still gonna kick your ass," Ban said matter-of-factly. "But you do get to keep your messed up life."

Shimo smiled wryly. "How nice of you."

"I know. I can be pretty generous," Ban said, still smirking.

Ban went down the white steps, and the door closed behind him. He continued down the pathway, stopping at the edge of the pool. Its black bottom made the water appear like a mirror, and its glassy surface produced a beautiful reflection of the elements in the room.

"Quite a nifty room you got here," the retriever commented.

Shimo smiled again. "It's my meditation room."

"Oh?," Ban said as he raised his eyebrows. "I wonder why you wanna have your ass kicked here then."

Shimo's smile turned into a smirk. "It's also my training room."

"Oh," Ban repeated. He looked around again, at the elements that underscored the harmony in the room, then turned to look back up at the silver-haired agent. "Actually, I'm still not following you."

"Perhaps a little demonstration will suffice, then."

Shimo pulled out his daggers, then pointed them at the pool. The pool in the middle of the room froze, and the sound of trickling waters stopped as the waterfall quickly turned into ice.

"Nice," Ban remarked as he looked down at the frozen pool. "I would've brought ice skates if I'd known that you make good rinks."

Shimo just looked back at Ban, unamused. Finally, he asked, "Why are you here, Mido?"

"I just want the ring, Frosty. You can just hand it over, and I wouldn't even have to kick your ass." He grinned at the agent. "So.. What do you say?"

In response, Shimo pointed his dagger at Ban, and a sharp streak of ice came flying towards the retriever.

Ban jumped to the side, landing on the pathway next to the far wall. "I guess that would be a 'no'."

The silver-haired agent chuckled again. "I think we already had this conversation."

"We did. I was just giving you a chance to change your mind... y'know.. since I'm so nice and all." Ban proceeded to take off his tuxedo jacket. "Okay, then..." Tossing the jacket to the side, he then gave the silver-haired agent a confident smile. "You asked for it."

Ban moved faster than the eye could see, catching Shimo off-guard as the retriever suddenly appeared right in front of him. He gave Shimo a hard right hook on the side of the head, which sent the agent plummeting towards the frozen pool.

Shimo quickly recovered and landed on his feet. He summoned the daggers that he had dropped then aimed up high, shooting bullets of ice at the retriever.

Ban sprung from beam to beam to avoid the icy bombardment. He then dove down and charged at Shimo. Shimo saw him coming and aimed his dagger at him. The edges of his dagger turned blue.

Before he even reached the elite agent, Ban found his whole body bound once again by Shimo's ice cocoon. With a growl, he burst out of the ice. No sooner had the cocoon walls crumbled than Shimo sent another barrage of frozen pellets his way.

Undeterred, Ban ran to the side, using his godlike speed to swiftly position himself behind Shimo, but before he could grab the agent, an ice wall materialized between them.

* * *

Nomi charged first, one blade aimed at her opponent's neck, the other at Iarra's midriff. Iarra responded by rushing forward, meeting Nomi's blades with her silver ones. The loud clang of steel against steel rang across the room.

They both gripped their weapons more tightly as the blades pressed hard against each other, shaking with the pressure. It was then that Iarra was able to take a good look at the redhead's daggers.

Nomi's blades had serrations at the bottom, which meant that her daggers could make faster cuts. Which shouldn't be a problem, Iarra mused. Serrations were useless if they couldn't make contact with their target.

Iarra pushed hard, which made Nomi step back. Instead of fighting it, the redhead shifted her weight to her back leg, leaned back as she dropped down low, and moved her arms up to throw Iarra's balance off. Iarra reacted by flipping forwards over Nomi.

Iarra landed on her feet and quickly positioned herself into a tiger stance, with her right arm stretched out in front of her, and the outside of her left wrist held up next to her left temple. Both tips of her daggers pointed at the redhead, who had also stood up straight with her own daggers aimed at Iarra.

Feeling a slight biting pain on her right forearm, Iarra glanced at it and was surprised to see blood trickling down from a cut that ran from her elbow all the way to her wrist.

_Where the hell did that come from?_, she thought, frowning.

Nomi's lips turned up into a smile as she watched Iarra's puzzled expression. She then hurled one of her daggers.

Iarra blocked it, flinging Nomi's blade to the side as she lunged forward, thrusting her left dagger below the redhead's collarbone.

Nomi ducked, then lashed low at Iarra's thigh. Iarra sidestepped the attack, pivoting quickly as she brought her right knee up to hit Nomi at the back of the head. Nomi did not absorb the full brunt of the blow as she rolled away from Iarra, stopping with one knee on the floor.

Iarra winced as she felt another slight pain on the inside of her right thigh. She looked down and saw the slash that ripped the inside of her right pant leg.

_Damn_, she cursed. _How the hell does she do that?_

Nomi held out her hand, and the dagger that she had thrown came flying back into it.

She was definitely not making the cuts with those blades, Iarra thought, since she had her eye on them and was fully aware of where they were and where they were aimed. Also, the cuts were shallow and seemed to not contain any venom, which meant that they were not intended to be lethal, but were just distractions.

Nomi watched Iarra's features with amusement as the ex-agent tried to figure out what had just happened. "You underestimate me, Iarra." She then chuckled. "Can't blame you, though, since you don't know who you're dealing with."

Iarra said nothing, but just looked up at her opponent.

"Let me indulge you, then," Nomi said, smirking. "As you know, elite training in Dark Fleet takes around eight years." She twirled her daggers in between her fingers as she continued, "The Fleet had noticed that I was picking things up rather quickly, more quickly than anyone else." She then smiled at Iarra. "It took me just two years before they let me work in the field."

She let Iarra absorb that piece of information, the smirk still on her lips as she flipped her daggers playfully.

Finally, Iarra said, "You're right."

Nomi raised an eyebrow, not sure what Iarra had meant.

"I did underestimate you," Iarra said. She then gave the redhead a smirk of her own. "My bad."

Iarra took a step forward with her right foot into a bow stance, and held her right dagger in an upperhand hold next to her left cheek. At the same time, she flipped her left dagger into an underhanded grip, and held it across her chest in a center gate block. "Care for a second round?"

The redhead snickered. "I doubt that things will be any different, but sure, if you're really eager to meet your end."

"Oh, I'll meet my end one day," Iarra responded. "It just won't be through you."

"Don't be so sure," Nomi said. "Overconfidence can be fatal."

"Better tone it down then."

Nomi glowered. She then stepped back into another battle stance. "Why don't we just let our blades do the talking?"

"Fine with me."

The redhead charged again. Iarra bent down, dodging as she swung her left leg around. It connected with the back of Nomi's knees, making her fall backwards on the floor. Iarra quickly flipped her daggers into an underhanded grip and stabbed downwards. Nomi evaded the attack by rolling to her side. Barely giving her a chance to recover, Iarra lunged after her, carrying out strike after strike of devastating slashes.

Nomi held her own, blocking the ex-agent's onslaught successfully, although with notable strain. She soon found herself on the defensive, parrying and dodging Iarra's attacks. With a great amount of effort, she was able to perform a series of somersaults to finally break away from Iarra's reach.

Iarra chased after her, then hurled her silver daggers at the redhead, who did a high backflip to steer clear of the blades. Iarra then held out her hand to summon her daggers back.

Her daggers didn't come.

That moment of bewilderment was the opening that Nomi needed to launch her attack. Nomi's heel connected hard with Iarra's chest, and Iarra found herself flying across the room.

The former agent hit her back against one of the massive white columns that held the balcony, her arms thrown back with the impact. Before Iarra realized what was happening, two shurikens flew from Nomi's hand and pinned her wrists to the pillar.

Nomi grabbed two more circular discs that were attached from her belt. As she whirled around, small blades suddenly emerged around the discs, transforming them into multi-pointed stars that bore the recognizable shuriken form. She then threw the weapons at Iarra's feet, pinning the ex-agent's ankles to the column as well.

Iarra opened her palms wide to summon the small daggers that were in her boots. To her dismay, they did not respond just like her silver daggers, but remained inside her boots.

* * *

The two fighters flew in the air. They made contact in the middle of the room, and both soon found themselves being thrown to opposite sides.

Shimo hit the wall with his back then dropped down to the floor with a loud thud. Ban was able to land on his feet, but his momentum made him slide across the frozen pool. He then collided with the frozen waterfall, breaking it into several sharp fragments.

Ban soon emerged from the pieces of broken ice. As he stood up, he noticed that his knuckles had some blood from the scrapes that he got while punching Shimo's ice walls. It was then that he understood why the silver-haired agent wanted to fight in this room.

The room seemed to be very conducive to forming ice. In addition to the ice walls being much thicker and denser, Shimo's ice attacks seemed to come faster as well. Couple that fact with Ban's serpentine nature, where the coldness surrounding him was making him feel slow and heavy, this fight with Shimo was turning out not as easy as he thought it would be.

Shimo stood up as well, his ice blue eyes fixed on Ban as he held his daggers in front of him.

Well, Ban thought, that just meant that he didn't need to hold back as much.

The retriever clenched his fist, and the translucent outline of a serpent coiled around him. He charged forward and grabbed at the agent's face. He was only able to grab air, however, since Shimo immediately leapt up onto an overhead beam.

The agent spread his arms wide, and a whirlwind of ice rushed towards the retriever.

A low rumbling could be heard as the room shook. Soon, several massive icy stalagmites started to rise around Ban, continuing upwards until they towered over him. Before Ban could make a move, the huge stalagmites suddenly broke and caved in around the retriever, burying him in an icy avalanche.

* * *

A/N: This chapter's title means "more movement". In music, the term "più mosso" means a change in tempo where the indicated musical passage should have more movement, meaning it should be played faster. I chose this title because things are picking up now.

Yeah, this chapter seemed a bit too short. The reason for that is that there be will lots of things happening in the next chapter, and it's tough for me to know where exactly to cut it, so I cut it here. Oh, and Ginji's not in this chapter. Sorry! It's just that it made more sense to write his scene on the next chapter. On a good note, since it's so short, at least I managed to finish writing this sooner than I expected. So it's all good, right? *insert sheepish grin here*

Atropos' Knife:

Yes, it IS very quiet in here, isn't it? I'm soooo thankful that you're here making some noise! lol

Yes, some of Iarra's backstory is set in China. That would also explain why she could speak the language back in The Silver Claw.

Ahh, Nomi... I was debating on whether to make that new elite agent male or female. I finally chose the character to be female primarily for three reasons: 1) to show that Iarra's not the only female elite agent, so she's not an anomaly; 2) a female character brings different dynamics; 3) a cat fight seems challenging but interesting to write (lol).

Ginji turning Raitei... Yeah, he almost did during Shuu's death, if it weren't for those darn noxious fumes hehe. Anyway, although him turning into Raitei at this point would be another interesting thing to write, I'm clueless on how that would work. Would that even make sense when he's so far away from Mugenjou? Since you have a better grasp on Ginji than I do, any insight you could provide on this topic would be very helpful :)

vedha:

Yes, I took more time in developing the characters in this fic, so I'm glad that it showed. I hope you like the Ban-Shimo fight in this chapter. Or maybe not... considering the way this chapter ended. It's not done, though! :)

Yeah, Ginji going after Yosuke does seem stupid, but I think it goes with Ginji's character, whom I think wouldn't be the type to just do nothing when he knows somebody's life is in danger, especially if it was somebody he was close to. Besides, it'll be all too easy if Ginji just stuck with Ban. We gotta give the boys some challenge here! *evil laughter*

Romance between Ban and Iarra... That's a good question. Let's just say that we'll have to see how the story goes hehe :D

As always, your reviews are very much appreciated!


	20. Con Brio

Disclaimer: Still don't own them.

* * *

**XX. Con Brio**

The hallucinations stopped for a brief moment, and that brief moment gave Amano Ginji enough time to see the bright overhead lamp in the middle of the room where he was being held.

It wasn't long, however, before the phantoms in his mind started appearing again.

_Several huge thugs materialized in front of him - monsters from the Belt Line. He was looking up at them now, at the sinister grins on their faces._

He remembered running away from them.

_"Ginji!"_

He felt his heart lurch at the familiar voice. "Chien," he whispered.

_The little girl was running, coming in between him and the arrow that was now flying towards him._

"NOOO, CHIEN!", he found himself screaming.

He shut his eyes. He didn't need to see what was going to happen next - didn't need to see how the arrow that was meant for him had shot through his childhood friend's heart.

_This isn't real_, he told himself as he clenched his fists. Sparks started to dance once again around his fingers.

He heard a soft gasp, which made him open his eyes. The sight of Chien collapsing was almost too much to bear.

_This isn't real._

Electricity started to spiral around his body, and the rage that he felt those years ago began to build up once again inside of him.

_This isn't real._

It was this pivotal moment when HE first appeared and changed the course of his life.

_THIS IS NOT REAL!_

_They killed Chien. They deserve to die. All of them._

He remembered Raitei's cold voice, camouflaged as his own, breaking through his thoughts as he looked down at his unmoving friend.

"No!", Ginji said, loudly this time. "This isn't real!"

_They would kill all of your friends if you don't do anything. You have to kill them first._

"Noooo!" Ginji squeezed his eyes shut again and shook his head hard, as if the quick forceful movements could shake this nightmare away.

_You can make the pain disappear. You can make them all disappear._

_I need to get out of here!_

Ginji opened his eyes, his jaw set in determination. He ran towards Chien, but instead of picking her up in his arms the way he did all those years ago, he jumped up - to where he remembered the bright overhead lamp was, and reached out.

_This isn't real, this isn't real, this isn't real._

Relief came over him as he felt his hands wrap around the chain that held the light fixture. He squeezed his eyes shut and held on.

Power surged from the chain into his hands, and spirals of pure electricity started to surround Ginji's body. The air rushed around him violently, crackling loudly as it blew his clothes and his blond hair wildly with its energy.

A brilliant white light then filled the entire space. The room shook forcefully until finally, the enclosure could no longer contain the vast amount of energy that was being drawn from the _Pristine's_ main power source.

* * *

A chuckle escaped the redhead's lips as she saw the bafflement in the former Dark Fleet agent's eyes. "I would advise you not to struggle."

Iarra directed her gaze to Nomi.

"The blades that are holding you right now contain venom from the Deathstalker scorpion," Nomi continued. "If it gets into your veins, it'll travel to your lungs, filling them with fluid, thereby cutting off your airways. (1)" She smiled. "I would stand still if I were you."

Nomi watched with amusement as Iarra closed her eyes and took several deep breaths to collect herself.

"You must be wondering why your daggers didn't respond to you," Nomi then said, a sly smile on her face.

Slowly, Iarra opened her eyes and directed them to the elite agent. "How'd you do it?"

The redhead stepped closer, giving Iarra the kind of smile that young girls usually make when they were about to share a secret. Her answer came in the form of an impish whisper.

"I can break the bond between dagger and wielder."

She let Iarra ponder that thought for a moment, then knelt down to pull out the small daggers that were in Iarra's boots. She stood up, moved her face closer to Iarra's as she bore her eyes straight into her captive's, then said, "You can no longer control them."

Iarra watched as Nomi turned her small daggers around, their blades glinting with the light reflected from the glow of the chandelier. Without warning, the redhead plunged the daggers right around her face, making her wince as she involuntarily shut her eyes.

The elite agent then placed her hands over Iarra's shoulders. Iarra opened her eyes, wondering what her opponent was now up to.

Nomi's eyes continued to pierce Iarra's as her hands probed behind her captive's back. Soon, she found what she was looking for. She wrapped her hands around the handles of the daggers that were holstered behind Iarra then swiftly drew them both out.

The elite agent held Iarra's daggers in her hands, flipping them around as she examined the jet black blades. "Fascinating," she murmured.

She then stepped back, turned quickly and hurled both of the black daggers across the hardwood floor, hitting another column at the far end of the room.

"Formidable blades you got there," she said as she turned back to her captive. "Too bad they can't be of any use to you right now."

Iarra just looked back at her with an unconcerned look on her face. "So is this one of the modern Dark Fleet fighting techniques that you were talking about?"

Nomi smirked. "Impressed?"

"Meh," Iarra replied with a seemingly uncaring shrug. "I kinda expected more."

Nomi glowered with annoyance. "Is that so?" She took another step closer to the ex-agent to stare into her eyes. "You know... I could've killed you already."

Iarra stared back at her, unaffected by Nomi's threatening glare. "Why didn't you?"

The redhead snorted, replying, "It would've been too easy."

Iarra smiled, then directed her gaze at the the shurikens that held her wrists. "Then why don't you take your little toys away so you can have a bit more of a challenge?"

Nomi chuckled in response. "I just might." She stopped chuckling, then muttered, "... if it weren't for him..." Her voice trailed off. Her eyes then seemed to glaze over as she stared at the wall behind Iarra. Finally, she said softly, "He talks about you a lot."

Iarra frowned. "Who?"

"Shimo."

Iarra's eyes softened at the mention of her old friend.

Nomi shook her head, saying, "Shimo seems to have an idealized view of you."

Iarra studied Nomi's face and saw the faraway, almost longing look in the redhead's eyes when she said Shimo's name.

Nomi's eyes then hardened as she glared back at the ex-agent. "But reality says otherwise." With another spiteful look, the redhead turned around and started to walk away from Iarra. "He wants to take care of you himself. That's the only reason I'm keeping you alive." She stopped walking, and with her back still turned, said, "I'm doing this for him."

Iarra decided to push her own thoughts of Shimo away in the meantime as she focused on her current situation. "How very thoughtful of you," she said sarcastically.

Nomi turned around and gave Iarra another glare. "But if you give me a hard time..." She stepped forward again, pulling out one of the daggers that were sheathed at her hips. "... you should know that I would love nothing more than to plunge this right into you. You know what happens when the Deathstalker venom goes straight into your heart?"

"Oh, I don't know. Something bad, I guess?"

Nomi laughed softly. "Liquifying your heart WOULD be considered bad, wouldn't it? (2)"

"Yep, very bad." Iarra then smirked. "So is that what you wanna do, then? Liquify my heart?"

"You don't seem to be very concerned."

"I would be, if you came close to succeeding."

Nomi did not find that response amusing, to say the least. Her face turned serious as she suddenly straightened out her arm and pointed the tip of her dagger right at Iarra's face. "And what're you gonna do to keep me from succeeding?"

Iarra stared at Nomi's dagger, her eyes scouring every detail - the tip of the blade, the serrations, the quillons, Nomi's fingers wrapped around the handle... A look of realization then crossed her face as her eyes came to rest on the butt of the dagger's handle, or more specifically, on the protrusion at the butt of the dagger's handle.

"So that's how you did it," Iarra muttered.

Nomi frowned. "What?"

"Your dagger has a talon (3)," Iarra said as she looked back at Nomi. "That's how you were able to scratch me."

Nomi smiled. "Very good, Iarra." She flipped her dagger in a reverse grip, orienting the talon's point towards the ex-agent, then said, "But knowing what it is doesn't help you, does it?" She then traced the tip of the talon down Iarra's cheek. "You don't have your own deadly daggers anymore."

Iarra couldn't help but snort with amusement as she gave the redhead a smirk. "You don't get out much, do you?"

Nomi narrowed her eyes. "What do you mean?"

"During our training," Iarra said. "You know how they always emphasized how our daggers are an extension of our own bodies?"

Nomi just looked back at her, unsure of what she was getting at.

"Although that is true," Iarra continued. "...there's something that they didn't emphasize as much..." She smiled back at the redhead. "...which you'll probably learn later on when you go outside of Dark Fleet's walls, but I'll give you the privilege of learning about it now."

Still with a glare on her face, Nomi asked, "And what would that be?"

Iarra smiled again, which irritated the elite agent more. "Yes, you are right to call them deadly daggers, but what you fail to realize is that it's not the blades that make them deadly."

Nomi snorted, saying, "Oh, really."

"Mm-hmm," Iarra replied with a nod.

"So tell me...", Nomi said as she stepped closer, flicking her wrist so that the serrations on her blade now pressed under Iarra's chin. "If it's not the blades, then what is it?"

Iarra looked straight into the redhead's eyes and gave her the kind of smile that young girls usually make when they were about to share a secret. Her answer then came in the form of an impish whisper.

"It's the wielder."

Before Nomi could reply, the lights from the chandelier suddenly went out, engulfing the ballroom in total darkness.

* * *

A squad of Dark Fleet agents lined up the hallway. They stood at attention vigilantly, their eyes watching out for anything unusual. They had already captured one of the intruders - the one who was known as the Lightning Emperor, to be more precise - and their main task right now was to make sure that he didn't escape again.

Just then, the dim lights in the hallway started to flicker. Their eyes moved up to the ceiling, watching curiously as the light fixtures started to shake. They then looked at one other with uncertainty.

One agent pulled out his daggers. The others snapped to attention and soon followed.

The light fixtures' trembling became more intense. The agents then heard a low rumbling sound, like thunder booming from inside the room that held the intruder. They gripped their daggers more tightly as they shifted into position.

Suddenly, a blast shook the hallway, and the metal door instantly vaporized as a brilliant flash of hot white lightning arced through.

The Dark Fleet agents stepped back, covering their faces with their arms to protect their eyes from the blinding light.

The lightning soon stopped, and the whole hallway became dark.

Some ruffling could be heard, as well as the muttering of curses as the agents tried to orient themselves. Soon, the backup power supply of the _Pristine_ kicked in, and the emergency lights in the hallway turned on.

The agents' eyes adjusted to the light, and some gasps escaped from their lips as they realized that their captive had already stepped out of the room and was now standing right in the middle of their formation. They began throwing their daggers at him.

The blond reacted by simply spreading his arms wide with his palms directed outwards. An electromagnetic shield formed around him, sizzling the agents' blades with its intense heat. Sparks of electricity started to form around his hands.

Soon, bolts of lightning shot out from his palms, and all of the Dark Fleet agents fell to the floor unconscious - all except one.

He was thrown against the wall with the blast, but his position in the squad formation enabled him to be luckily shielded from the full power of the intruder's electrical attack. Still shaken, he blinked and let his eyes focus.

The first things he saw as his vision cleared were the black pant legs that were standing right in front of him. His eyes trailed up, finding themselves locking into the brown eyes of the blond intruder.

_The Lightning Emperor_, he thought as he trembled in fear.

The intruder that was known as the Lightning Emperor looked down at him, and the agent found himself paralyzed with terror.

_Please, please don't kill me_, was all he could think of.

Finally, the intruder spoke. "Take me to Yosuke."

* * *

It wasn't long before the emergency lights in the ballroom turned on.

Nomi blinked to let her eyes adjust.

Her eyes soon grew wide as she realized that her captive was gone and that she was now staring at the ridges of the huge white column, her blade just raised in midair. Before she could move, she heard a soft voice coming from right behind her, which made her almost jump up in surprise.

"Over here."

She then felt her head being shoved forward forcefully. She raised her forearms just in time, cushioning her head and preventing it from being smashed into the column. She then whirled around, directing her elbow at her attacker.

Iarra ducked, then quickly rolled out of the way as the redhead attempted to stab downwards with her dagger. She stopped a few feet away, positioning herself in a falling stance and spreading her arms wide with her palms up.

Nomi went into a fighting stance of her own, angling her daggers in an attack position. She wondered briefly how the ex-agent had managed to escape from her shurikens, but decided to put that thought aside as she now had something more important to worry about.

She eyed the ex-agent's battle stance, and her glare turned into an amused smile. "Are you going to fight me with your bare hands, Iarra?"

Iarra ignored the blood coming out from the tattoos on her wrist and directed her attention to her opponent. "So what if I am?"

Nomi snickered, saying, "You're more foolish than I thought."

Iarra just smiled. "Save that thought for when you actually defeat me."

Nomi glared back at her, annoyed at the response. Without another word, she lunged.

With her feet firmly anchored to the floor, Iarra watched the redhead's movement closely as she advanced.

Nomi thrust her daggers forward. Iarra let herself fall back to the floor at the last minute, catching Nomi's wrists with her hands and pulling the redhead down with her. The momentum allowed Nomi to be lifted easily off the floor.

Nomi was surprised to find herself flipping over Iarra, and then flying across the hardwood floor. Her cheek hit the floor hard. She rolled over to her back, and was about to summon the daggers that she had dropped when Iarra's heel stomped down on her wrist. With her other foot, Iarra kicked the side of Nomi's head.

Nomi grunted in pain, but recovered quickly. While still on the floor, she suddenly swung her legs around, catching her opponent by surprise as she hit the back of Iarra's knees, making her fall backwards. As Nomi rolled to where Iarra was, she raised her arm, and one of her daggers flew into her hand. She then proceeded to stab the ex-elite agent.

Iarra was able to block Nomi's wrist with her forearm, and with her other hand, struck the side of Nomi's jaw. The elite agent's head fell back down to the floor as she dropped her dagger once again.

And that was when the fight turned dirty.

Iarra kicked the dagger away and had just started to get up when she felt a hand grab her ponytail to pull her back down, making her wince. As she fell, she extended her elbow, hitting Nomi on the ribs. She heard a groan as the redhead let go.

Nomi tried to summon her daggers again, but Iarra did not let her. Iarra clenched her fist and backhanded the elite agent on the nose, making her gasp in pain. Nomi, however, fought back by rolling over Iarra and grabbing the ex-agent's neck with her hands.

Iarra squirmed as she tried to get her attacker's hands off, but the redhead gripped tighter, her fingers digging deeper into Iarra's throat, making Iarra grimace as her air supply threatened to be cut off. Realizing that she had to do something quickly to keep herself from being strangled to death, Iarra then decided to switch tactics, jamming her thumb into Nomi's eye.

Nomi screamed, her hands leaving Iarra's throat to cover her injured eye.

Iarra then smashed the side of Nomi's head to get the elite agent off of her. She was just about to get up when Nomi suddenly clawed at Iarra's face in desperation. She gasped as she felt the redhead's fingernails run down her cheek. She then directed her gaze back to Nomi, who had somehow managed to stand up.

The redhead gave her a swift kick on the chin, and Iarra found herself back on the floor. She saw Nomi open her palms up, presumably to summon her daggers, but Iarra quickly got up and launched herself at the elite agent before the daggers came. She tucked her chin down to her chest as she came in, butting Nomi on the chest and bringing her back down to the floor.

Since Iarra was not giving Nomi a chance to summon her daggers, Nomi was forced to do whatever she could to take the ex-agent out - kneeing, punching, clawing, gouging, even biting, but Iarra fought just as viciously back, using all the experience that she had acquired in the numerous street fights that she had been in. This was not the time for florid moves and fancy footwork.

Iarra saw Nomi's daggers fly in the air, which urged her to quickly roll away from the elite agent and onto her feet.

Nomi, who now had her daggers back in her hands, threw both of her weapons at her opponent. Iarra responded by quickly grabbing a nearby chair, holding it in front of her.

The daggers pierced the underside of the wooden seat. Before Nomi could summon them back, Iarra charged forward, striking the side of Nomi's head hard with the end of one of the chair's legs. As Nomi's head hit the floor, Iarra flipped the chair over so that its top rail pressed against Nomi's throat. She then pushed the back of the chair against Nomi's chest, pinning her down as she stood over the elite agent.

Nomi's chest was heaving with effort, her head now spinning from all the blows that she had received. She tried to move, but was horrified to find out that she couldn't. One of her eyes was swelling shut, and her breath came in tiny gasps as she looked back at Iarra with an aghast expression on her face.

Blood was trickling down from a split on Iarra's lips. Her cheeks and arms had multiple scratches, and the rip in her pants that she had gotten earlier from Nomi's talon had grown longer. As she looked down at her opponent, she could feel the left side of her face getting stiff, and she knew that it was also starting to swell. She was bruised badly, yes, but the strength in her eyes was still unmistakably clear.

"You underestimate me, Nomi," Iarra said in a calm but deadly voice. "Can't blame you, though, since you don't know who you're dealing with."

Nomi's breath got caught in her throat as she stared back into those chilling eyes. It was then that she realized that she had lost, and the redhead's eyes conveyed the fear that had started to creep in. She saw Iarra lift the chair up, and before she knew it, everything went black.

Iarra tossed the remains of the chair, which had splintered from the final blow that she had given Nomi, to the side. She then knelt down and felt Nomi's neck for a pulse. Yes, she was still alive. Heavily injured, but alive.

She held her hands up towards the large white column that had held her smaller daggers. To her relief, the daggers came. She put them back in her boots, then summoned the rest of her weapons. She got to the last pair, the black ones, and she held them both in her hands as she stood and looked up at the remaining Dark Fleet squad. They had their mouths open in shock at the defeat of their comrade.

As she slowly stepped away from Nomi, she looked at each agent directly, her eyes challenging them to fight if they dare. She could see some of them gulp, and she knew that they were scared shitless.

She smiled internally, deciding to take advantage of their fear.

With her eyes narrowed in a menacing glare, she swiftly positioned herself into a dragon stance as her blades suddenly shot up in flames. "Who wants to go next?"

Their answer came in the form of fleeing. The Dark Fleet agents quickly lost their formation as all of them tried to scramble frantically out the doors that lined the walls of the upper balcony.

Iarra smirked. "Good answer," she muttered.

* * *

The door opened, and Yosuke looked up from the cot that he was lying on. His eyes widened.

"Ginji-san?"

The blond retriever was at the door, relief spreading across his worry-filled face as his brown eyes landed on his old friend. He walked into the room and sat on the cot right next to the boy. "Yosuke," he said with a smile. "You're ok."

Yosuke shook his head slowly, sadness filling his eyes. "You shouldn't have come, Ginji-san."

Ginji frowned. "What do you mean? Don't you want to get away from this place?"

"It's too late." The boy showed him his hands, which were now both completely swollen and blue. He smiled weakly. "Almost all of my body is like this now." He tried to give Ginji a brave face, his eyes misting up as he did so. "I'm dying, Ginji-san."

"No, no, no," Ginji said, shaking his head at his friend. "We're not gonna let that happen." He reached inside his tux pocket, taking out the black bead that he had gotten from Iarra. He smiled at the boy reassuredly. "I have the antidote, see?"

Yosuke just stared at the bead, then at Ginji.

Ginji could tell that he was hesitating. Before Yosuke could say anything else, Ginji took the boy's right hand in his. He turned Yosuke's palm up and looked at the gash where the poison was first introduced into his system.

It looked pretty bad.

The blond tried not to let his worry show and just proceeded to squeeze the bead. As drops of the liquid antidote fell on the wound, he smiled warmly at Yosuke, saying, "There. You'll be better in no time. You'll see."

Yosuke stared at the wound on his palm and was surprised to see that the color of his skin surrounding the gash had already started to return to normal. He bit his lip, the expression in his eyes shifting back and forth between gratitude and doubt.

"What's wrong, Yosuke?", Ginji asked, concern showing in his eyes.

A lump started to form in Yosuke's throat. "You saved my life again, Ginji-san," he said, his voice crackling with emotion. "... and for that, I'm grateful."

Ginji knew that Yosuke had more to say, so he sat there quietly, patiently until the boy was able to form the words for the struggle that was on his mind.

Yosuke had closed his eyes now, and tears started to stream down the corners of his eyes onto the white sheet that covered the cot that he was lying on. "But why?", he choked out. He opened his eyes and forced them to look up into his former Emperor's brown ones. "Why do you go to all this trouble for someone like me?"

It was a simple question, but it was that simple question that summed up the hopelessness that was causing the boy's despair.

It was a question that Ginji had heard before, although phrased differently.

_"Why did you save me?", Makubex had asked him._

_It was during the IL recovery mission. That time, Makubex had just jumped off of a building back in Mugenjou after he realized that he had lost, and Ginji had just caught the Volts king in his arms. It was a simple question, but it was a simple question coming from someone who could not see his own worth._

_Ginji had replied, telling him that everyone would be sad if he died._

_"Why would anyone be sad about someone who doesn't even know his real name?," Makubex had said._

_Ginji had held the boy tight, telling him he himself would be sad. Wasn't that enough?_

_Makubex had turned his head to look up at him, at the comforting warmth in his eyes as he said those words, and it was only then, as they both hung from the side of that building in Mugenjou, did Makubex begin to realize just how much he was really valued – how much his existence had really meant to everyone around him._

"Yosuke," Ginji said, his brown eyes softening as he looked down at the boy's tear-stricken ones. "Remember when you said earlier that when the Volts first dissolved, you felt... lost?"

Yosuke nodded.

"Well," Ginji said, a gentle smile forming on his lips. "I'm a Get Backer. I get back what is lost." He put a hand firmly but tenderly on Yosuke's shoulder and leaned over to look directly into the boy's eyes. "Especially things that are valuable."

Valuable.

Tears started to flow down once again from Yosuke's eyes as he heard the word.

Worthless was what he was feeling just before the door to this room opened. He had already given up, resigning to his fate, but as he stared back at his former Emperor - no, at the Get Backer - at those brown eyes that seemed to bore deep into his soul, he knew that he was wrong. He couldn't possibly imagine what it was, but somehow, those brown eyes saw something in him that was... in the Get Backer's words... valuable, and it was something that the Get Backer thought was worth risking his life for.

For Yosuke, that was enough. And just as it was on that day when he first got introduced to the Volts, the beginnings of hope started to burgeon once again inside him. Well, maybe it was true. Maybe he wasn't worthless after all.

"Thank you," he said, his lips finally curving up into a smile. "... Ginji-san."

* * *

A/N: This chapter's title, "Con Brio", is another musical term that means "with spirit, or with vigor". For this chapter, I'm referring to Ginji, who's now all juiced up after sucking all of the _Pristine's_ main power :)

(1) The Deathstalker is considered a highly dangerous species of scorpion because of the powerful toxin in its venom. Although the venom normally would not be able to kill a healthy human, being stung by this scorpion supposedly hurts really, really bad and is an experience that one would never forget. In extreme cases, the venom can cause pulmonary edema, which is fluid accumulation in the lungs.

(2) Since we're on the subject of scorpions, here's another random tidbit of information. Since scorpions are on a liquid diet, their venom can not only paralyze their prey but also turn the prey's insides into liquid form before they suck it out (ewww). In this fic, Nomi uses an amplified version of the venom, which would work on humans.

(3) A talon is a small pointed protrusion at the base of a dagger or knife's handle. It is more commonly known as a "skull crusher". Some users of combat knives use the term "talon", which I've chosen since the thing does look like a talon.

* * *

To vedha:

You wanted a longer chapter? Here's a longer chapter (almost 5000 words! - not even counting my ramblings at the end). I hope this chapter answers your questions. Well, some of them, anyway :) As for romance... you'll just have to wait and see hehehe :)

To Atropos' Knife:

I don't have the later chapters of the manga, so my knowledge of Raitei is based on other people's summaries (so sad... LOL), so a big THANK YOU for answering my question. I think I know what you're talking about. The beginning of this chapter was my musings on what Ginji's memories could've been like just before he first turned into Raitei. I hope I did that justice.

Oh, yeah. About Ban. How could I forget? (LOL) This chapter got pretty long, plus his scene's a little complicated, soooo... he's not here, and there's no BAN-tering right now (love the pun! hehe). He'll be back in the next chapter, though! :)


	21. Ridicolosamente

Disclaimer: I don't own GB. And that other character at the end of this chapter (You'll see who it is. I just don't want to spoil it here).

* * *

**XXI. Ridicolosamente**

The silver-haired Dark Fleet agent stood on one of the overhead beams in the _Tranquility_. Tiny ice crystals hung suspended in the cold air, crystals that were formed from the crushed stalagmites that had just caved in below him. He eyed the mound of ice on the floor below, his hands gripping his daggers tightly as he looked for signs of the retriever.

There was no movement. The only sounds he could hear were the soft drops of water trickling down from the ceiling and from the overhead beams, where the ice that had formed were starting to melt.

Shimo sighed in relief as he holstered his daggers back into the sheaths at his hips. That retriever wasn't easy to beat.

It wasn't over, though, he thought, his brows furrowing. He still had to find a way to accomplish the mission that his boss Shinzaki had assigned to him. His frown grew deeper as the reality of what he had to do bore down on him.

_Iarra_, he thought, sighing again. He had to find her, and when he did, he had to somehow...

His thoughts were interrupted by the low rumbling sound coming from the ice mound below.

All of a sudden, Mido Ban burst out, flipped through the air, and landed right on the overhead beam beside Shimo. Before Shimo could react, he grabbed Shimo's face with his right hand and hurled the agent down to the floor.

Shimo landed on the ice mound with a loud crash. He groaned as he hit the broken ice, some of which had sharp protrusions that dug into his skin. He cursed, then rolled over to his back. His ice blue eyes moved up to see the retriever looking down at him from the overhead beam.

"That stalagmite attack's pretty impressive," Ban said as he gave him a smirk. "But of course, it would've been even more impressive if it actually worked." The retriever then shook his head at him, almost admonishingly. "You're gonna need more than that to beat the Invincible Mido Ban-sama."

Shimo gathered his bearings and gazed up at the retriever as he sat up straight. "Mido Ban," he said as rubbed the sore spots on his shoulders. "You are a formidable opponent."

"Why, thank you," Ban replied. "But when I said that you're gonna need more than that stalagmite attack to beat me, I didn't expect you to use flattery next."

Shimo chuckled at the arrogance. His face then took on a sad smile as he stared at the ice surrounding him.

Ban frowned at the change in the elite agent's countenance. The silver-haired man seemed to be deep in thought.

"How long have you known her?", Shimo suddenly asked, his head turning up to look at the retriever.

Ban was taken aback by the unexpected question. He studied Shimo's face for a moment before replying with, "If I tell you, are you gonna give me the ring?"

Shimo gave him an amused smile. "My question doesn't have anything to do with that."

"Then why should I answer it?"

He smiled again, then said softly, "I'm just wondering, that's all." He then stared again at the surrounding ice. "I was hoping to be able to talk to her one more time."

"Well," Ban said. "Why don't you just tell me what you wanna say to her? I'll make sure to send her the message once I'm done defeating you."

Shimo chuckled again. "It's not for you to know." He seemed to snap out of his reverie as he stood up. "Besides, have you ever considered the possibility that you might not even defeat me?"

"Nope," was Ban's simple reply.

Shimo then gave him a smirk, saying, "Perhaps you should." He then swiftly pulled out his daggers and sent another onslaught of ice streaks towards Ban.

Ban sprung up high, evading the torrent of icy bullets. He landed on another overhead beam and was just about to launch his own attack when the lights in the _Tranquility_ suddenly went out, enveloping the room in total darkness.

There was silence in the room as both fighters stopped, unsure of what was happening.

_Ginji_, Ban thought, worry starting to creep into his mind.

Soon, the low murmur of the ship's backup power could be heard, and the emergency lights in the _Tranquility_ turned on.

Shimo looked at his opponent, who seemed to be lost in thought with an anxious expression on his face. "Looks like your partner's getting busy," he remarked.

The retriever's eyes flicked over to Shimo's, but he said nothing.

He would know if something happened to Ginji. He always had, but it irked him how he still needed to be reminded of that fact sometimes. He took a deep breath, which seemed to calm him down.

_Yeah, Ginji's okay,_ he reassured himself. The smirk on his face reappeared as he looked back at the elite agent. "Time for me to get busy as well."

And with that, he charged at Shimo.

An ice wall appeared again right in front of him, but he did not let that stop him, directing his clenched fist at the icy barrier. Just as it crumbled to his feet, he saw the silver-haired agent flip right above him. He whirled around with his hands still clenched, grabbing at the spot behind him where he knew Shimo would land.

Shimo ducked, then slashed at Ban's legs. Ban reacted by jumping up and flipping forwards over Shimo. He tried to grab the top of Shimo's head, but the silver-haired agent rolled to the side, stopping a few feet away from him in a crouch.

Ban attacked again, lunging at the agent, but Shimo leapt high out of the way, flipping backwards as he sent more razors of ice towards the retriever. He landed on an overhead beam.

Ban easily avoided the barrage of icy pellets, jumping high as well towards the beam where Shimo was. He had just set his feet on the beam when Shimo charged, slashing at his midsection with his daggers.

The retriever stepped back, just narrowly missing the blades. Shimo attacked again, thrusting his daggers towards the retriever's chest.

The retriever suddenly disappeared. To his surprise, Shimo felt a hand clasp his neck from behind, pushing him down to his knees. Before he got down, however, he was able to quickly snap his right foot behind him. He heard a grunt as it connected with his opponent's knee, and he felt the grip around his neck loosen up.

Ban didn't let him go that easily, though. Before he loosened his grip, he gave the silver-haired agent a forceful shove to the side, and the agent found himself diving down once again to the floor.

Shimo was able to break his fall this time, landing on the side of his legs so he could lessen the impact with a roll, but just as he got up, he felt a hard knock on his solar plexus. He then found himself flying across the room, landing on a heap of broken ice.

He felt the wind get knocked out of him. He forced himself to get up, or at least get on his hands and knees as he gasped for air. The muscles on his abdomen were spasming with the blow, forcing him to cough.

The sound of footsteps crunching against the ice made him look up, and he found himself staring straight into the eyes of the retriever. He cursed to himself.

"I... can't...," he managed to choke out as he gasped for breath. "... lose to you."

"Oh, but you totally can," Ban responded as he peered down over his glasses. "You probably mean, you DON'T WANT TO lose to me. There's a difference."

Shimo didn't reply, but just continued to take deep breaths.

"C'mon, Frosty," Ban said. "You know how this'll turn out, so why don't you just hand it over and we can call it quits?"

Shimo's ice blue eyes flared up, obviously not liking Ban's suggestion. Strength was back in his eyes as he shook his head slowly. Then, in a low threatening voice, he said to the retriever, "I can't lose to you."

Suddenly, the daggers that Shimo had dropped came flying, their blades heading straight towards Ban's back. Ban jumped up once again, and the daggers landed on Shimo's outstretched hands.

Shimo spread his arms wide as he stood up, and cold icy air started to whirl around him. Soon, the whole room shook as the wind blew, and the temperature in the room seemed to drop even further. Some pieces of ice that were scattered all around the room floated up, joining with the icy whirlwind that seemed to energize the elite agent. As his silver hair whipped wildly around from the force of the cold wind, his ice blue eyes took on a more menacing look, and a feral growl came out of his mouth.

_Damn_, Ban thought as he watched the transformation. _I should've finished it when I had the chance._

Shimo stretched his arms forward, pointing the tip of his daggers towards Ban, and the whirlwind responded. The cold air seemed to take on a physical form as it rushed towards the retriever.

Ban narrowed his eyes as he moved forward. He felt himself slow down as the wind whipped around him, seemingly biting him with its numbing coldness. He growled in defiance, his muscles tensing up as he forced them to move. The sheer image of a serpent spiralled around the retriever's right hand as he charged.

Shimo shot more razor sharp icy slivers towards the retriever, who avoided it by leaping up and flipping over him. He then quickly whirled around, slashing at the retriever before he even landed.

Ban was able to change direction in midair, just barely avoiding Shimo's blades. Shimo kept moving forward, and Ban found himself having to step backwards to ward off slash after slash of bladed fury. The coldness was slowing down his movements, and he found it extremely frustrating not to be able to fight the agent with his full speed.

_Dammit, this is taking way too long_, Ban thought.

He charged again, and his right hand seemed to take on the form of a serpent's head.

Shimo ducked and stepped to the right. He swiftly planted his feet behind Ban, flipping his left dagger as he stabbed down Ban's shoulder. The retriever was able to turn quickly, catching Shimo's wrist with his right hand. Shimo moaned in pain, dropping his dagger as Ban's power grip got ahold of his wrist. He then hurled his other dagger to the retriever, who had to let go to avoid getting hit.

They both stepped back to catch their breaths.

Shimo summoned his daggers, then quickly pierced his injured wrist with one of the blades. A thin sheet of ice soon covered it.

"You should be thankful I didn't crush your wrist," Ban said. "That ice salve would've been useless."

Shimo snickered. "You should've crushed my wrist, then."

"Nah," Ban said.

Shimo looked back at him curiously.

Ban then gave the elite agent a smirk. "I'm gonna give you something worse."

He adjusted his glasses, and his bright blue eyes found Shimo's ice blue ones.

* * *

Iarra looked around the ballroom. The last Dark Fleet squad that was supposed to deal with her had just fled. Nomi was on the floor, still unconscious. On the balcony were two squads of Dark Fleet agents that were also knocked out.

She wondered what she should do now. Look for the Get Backers, maybe? She had no idea where Ginji would be. Mido, on the other hand... She paused. He would be in the _Tranquility_. With Shimo.

She felt anger beginning to stir once again as she remembered the cutting words that Shimo had said just before leaving the room.

_Ugh_, she thought as she closed her eyes in frustration. _Why am I so furious?_

She took a deep breath to calm herself down.

As she thought about it more, she realized that it wasn't the taunting that bothered her. It was because it was coming from HIM that it bothered her - because he knew her enough to know how to hurt her, and he did exactly just that. The anger just covered up the pain that she felt. Yes, that was it.

She holstered the black daggers to her back, and found herself chuckling. Maybe she should thank Mido. She didn't know what she would've done if she had to face Shimo again in the state that she was in.

She took another deep breath and opened her eyes. It was all in the past now, she reminded herself. Yes, it was probably better this way. She still had a task to do, and that was what mattered at the moment.

A puzzled expression then came over her face as she remembered her last conversation with Shimo. Now what did he mean when he told her that there were still some things that need to be said?

Just then, she heard a door open. She whirled around, pulling her silver daggers out from the holsters at her hips.

"Iarra-chaan!"

Relief came over her face at the sight of the blond retriever, who had just come in from a door up on the balcony.

"Ginji!", she said as she holstered her daggers back. Her eyes then flicked over to the boy who came up behind the retriever. "And Yosuke?"

"Your antidote worked!", Ginji said exuberantly. "He's coming with us now."

"Oh," Iarra said, unsure of whether that was a good thing, considering how 'pleasant' the boy had been to her earlier.

Ginji bounded along the balcony towards the grand staircase to meet up with Iarra. Yosuke followed close behind.

"So how'd you find me here?", Iarra asked them.

"We saw some Dark Fleet agents running away from this place with a scared look on their faces," the blond replied.

Iarra smiled. "And you just had to find out what caused that."

"Yep," Ginji said, smiling. He motioned to the unconscious agents on the balcony. "I think this is why." He got to the foot of the staircase to where Iarra was, took one look at her, then said, "You look terrible!"

Which brought a chuckle to Iarra's lips. "Thanks!"

Upon realizing that what he said wasn't exactly something that girls would like to hear, the blond hastily corrected himself, "Oh, I mean... You look hurt. Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," she replied with an amused smile. "Just a little scratched up, that's all." She looked back at Ginji, then remarked, "And you look all refreshed, like you've been to a spa or something. Where'd you get all that energy?"

Ginji gave her a sheepish grin. "From the ship."

"So that was you," she said, chuckling again as she realized what had caused the _Pristine's_ power failure. "I should've known."

"Iarra-san?"

Iarra looked over at Yosuke, who seemed to be hesitating.

"Thank you for the antidote," the boy said softly.

She looked at him, at the sincerity in his eyes, then replied, "Glad it worked."

"Where's Ban-chan?", Ginji then asked.

She sighed. "He's with Shimo."

The blond frowned. "Are they fighting?"

"Most likely."

The retriever looked concerned for a moment, but then his lips turned up into a big smile. "Ban-chan's gonna win, no doubt." He then looked around the room, asking, "So where do we go now?"

How he could just dismiss the fact that his partner was currently fighting surprised Iarra. It amazed her how relaxed the blond was, evidently confident about his faith in his partner.

"Well," she began. "We should probably just go to the helipad and wait there." She then smiled. "Your partner didn't exactly agree with me that the chopper's the best way out of here, but..."

She was then interrupted by the sound of doors opening. She stopped and frowned at how Ginji's big brown eyes had grown even bigger as the retriever looked behind her at the newcomer.

"H-h-h-Hishiki-san?"

Iarra turned around to see Ryuudou Hishiki, the protector that Tomita had hired. He stepped in through the main double doors of the ballroom with a wide grin on his face, and Iarra could swear she could almost hear Ginji gulp.

She turned to Yosuke, then said, "Why don't you go run to the helipad? We'll catch up with you."

Yosuke nodded and started to run up the stairs, towards the nearest door in the balcony.

"Ummmm," Ginji said. "Why don't we run there as well?"

Iarra glanced over at Ginji. She frowned at the beads of sweat that were already gathering on his forehead, then turned her gaze back to the protector. "I don't think this guy will let us." Pulling her silver daggers back out, she said, "Besides, there are two of us." She then looked back at Ginji and shrugged. "How hard could it be?"

Ginji just gave her a deadpan look in response.

* * *

Shimo was about to step forward towards his opponent when he felt something sticky on the floor. He looked down.

There was a puddle of golden yellow syrup at his feet. He frowned. He moved his eyes back up and was surprised to see that the retriever was gone. He looked around him, but Mido Ban was nowhere to be found. Puzzled, he directed his gaze back down at the odd substance on the floor.

_What is this?_, he wondered.

The syrup seemed to be flowing from behind one of the mounds of ice on the floor. He decided to follow the syrupy trail, slowly taking one step at a time as his hands gripped the handles of his daggers more tightly.

_This is really strange_, he thought.

He stopped as he heard some movement from behind the mound. There was definitely somebody there.

_Mido?_, Shimo thought. _What's he doing now?_

Narrowing his eyes, he decided to attack.

He charged around the mound, then suddenly stopped in his tracks. His mouth dropped open at the sight that met him.

The source of the golden-colored syrup was an overturned jar, and on the jar was scribbled the word 'HUNNY'. Beside the jar was an orangey-yellow teddy bear creature with a red shirt.

"Oh, bother," the creature said as he looked at the overturned jar. "I spilled my honey."

* * *

A/N:

Yes, the last scene is from the Jagan. If you don't know who the teddy bear creature is and why Ban chose to use it, look back at Chapter 15 :) Oh, and I don't own him. Disney does.

This chapter's title, "Ridicolosamente" (what a mouthful!), is a musical term that means "ridiculously" or "humoruously". I chose the word because the genre of this fic has rapidly turned into Humor.

Okay... I think I have some explaining to do about the last chapter, so here it is. I do have an explanation of how Nomi can break the bond between dagger and wielder. I just purposely didn't include it in the last chapter mainly because I didn't think it affected the story that much, and I didn't want to put too much unnecessary details. Obviously, I was wrong hehehe. Based on the comments I got, it seems that it IS necessary. Sooo... what to do, what to do? I don't think I want to modify the previous chapter to include that information, so here's what I've decided to do. There are some clues that I've put here and there in the previous chapters, but they're too subtle that it wasn't really obvious what I was trying to say (my fault, I know!). So, I'm just gonna list them out, and expand on it to let you know what I was thinking when I wrote it:

1) There is a bonding process for Dark Fleet agents and their daggers (more on this later). This is very personal, and is the reason that an agent can only summon his/her own weapons. In the scenes where there are several DF agents fighting, you might notice that they don't get somebody else's daggers when they summon.

2) Since this is very much a Dark Fleet thing, it wasn't very hard for Iarra to convince the DF agents that she was one of them when she first got Ban out of that metal tube. Okay, I didn't emphasize this point very much, I know. I did think of a short scene where she was demonstrating this fact to the guards, but then I decided not to write it since I didn't think it was important.

3) Iarra (and all DF agents, actually) knew the bonding process, which is why she didn't ask for Nomi to clarify. She understood what Nomi could do. It sounded a little weird for me to have Nomi explain how it all works. But then again, I didn't try very hard to put that in there.

4) Since Iarra could summon her daggers again after Nomi was out, I wanted to imply that it really was Nomi who was blocking it.

And now... for the bonding process. I really did think that this belonged to the Dark Fleet backstory archives and should stay there. So given the points above, do you guys still think I should include it? I'm considering re-writing the previous chapter if you think so.

As always, I welcome feedback, and I do appreciate hearing how I could improve, and also on what I did right ;)

To vedha:

Well, what Iarra was trying to show Nomi was that it wasn't about the daggers. Taking her weapons away does not render her helpless, and what made her the Silver Claw was much more than just her dagger skills. Sorry if I confused you. I hope this made it clearer. Anyway, here's the second part of the Ban-Shimo fight. The third part will be in the next chapter :)

To Atropos' Knife:

Thank you for that review! I worked hard on that fight, so telling me it turned out great made me really happy hehe. Yeah, there was some sugar overload in the previous chapter, so I thought of balancing it out with some brutality LOL :) Soooo... is this chapter surprising enough for you?


	22. Col Pugno

Disclaimer: I still don't own GB.

* * *

**XXII. Col Pugno**

'How hard could it be' was the question Iarra had asked Amano Ginji before fighting Ryoudo Hishiki. As her back slammed against a table, breaking the wooden tabletop in the process, she now knew the answer to that question - which was, 'Pretty damn hard'.

The ornate ceiling in the ballroom seemed to spin, its elaborate carvings coalescing themselves into one big whirling blur. She cursed to herself. She hadn't cursed so much in her life as she had within the span of the last couple of minutes. She now regretted not following what Ginji first suggested when the protector appeared - which was, to just run away.

The hardwood floor was now covered in scorch marks, both from Ginji's electrical bursts and the fireballs from her black daggers - which, she just found out, weren't very effective at all.

She had fought Hishiki with all the viciousness that she could muster, giving him attack after attack after another attack, but the protector just warded her off very easily, almost as if he was just swatting off an annoying fly. Meanwhile, Ginji's electrical attacks, even with all that energy that he had sucked out of the _Pristine_, seemed to just... tickle the big guy.

She felt the floor shake with the sound of heavy footsteps. Heavy running footsteps, to be exact. She lifted her head, and gasped as she saw the massive giant charging her way. She quickly rolled to her stomach, pressing her palms against the floor. Just as Hishiki was within her reach, she quickly snapped her legs up, digging her heels as hard as she could right into the protector's gut.

She might as well have kicked a brick wall.

"Oh, crap," she muttered as Hishiki wrapped his hands around her ankles.

She then felt herself being lifted off the floor and being spun around. After a few turns, Hishiki let go, and Iarra found herself flying - again - across the room. She was able to raise her arms over her head just before being smacked into one of the huge white columns that supported the balcony. She then felt herself slide like goo from the column down to the floor.

Ginji, on the other hand, had just rammed the balcony railing at the opposite end of the room with his head. The railing was now broken, and his rear was unflatteringly sticking out of the balcony's edge with his legs dangling down.

The blond moaned as he rubbed his head with his hand. He then bent his right knee towards the edge of the balcony, using it to support his bottom half as he lifted himself up.

Spotting the movement in the balcony, Hishiki made a dash up the grand staircase.

"Aaaack!", Ginji screamed as his eyes beheld the huge mass of muscle that was now hurtling towards him.

The blond Get Backer quickly got up and held his palms out toward Hishiki, giving the protector all that he had. Bright flashes of lightning burst out, enveloping Hishiki in a dazzling electrical light show.

Hishiki stopped, bending over as his body spasmed.

"You got him!", Iarra, who was now sitting up on the floor with her back against the column, yelled out triumphantly.

No sooner had Iarra finished saying that than Hishiki got up again and continued his charge towards Ginji as if nothing had happened.

"Damn," Iarra muttered.

Quickly, she summoned the silver daggers that she had dropped, got a few beads from her bodice, and inserted them into the holes at the hilts of her daggers. These beads contained the deadliest venom that she had. She wasn't planning on using them for this mission, but given their current circumstance, she just had to reconsider.

Hishiki was now pinning Ginji against the wall. That last blast obviously wore Ginji out, as he was now wincing and was just feebly trying to get the protector's hand off his throat.

Iarra hurled her silver daggers, and they flew up the balcony and hit Hishiki's back, right at the area where his heart would be.

Hishiki loosened his grip on the blond's neck and dropped down to his knees.

"Yes!," she said, clenching her fist in a gesture of victory.

Ginji, who had slid down the wall after being freed from the protector's grasp, rubbed the sore spot on his neck where the protector's fingers had dug, coughing as he gasped for air. He had just managed to catch his breath, when Hishiki's head lifted up.

In a teeny, tiny voice, Ginji uttered, "Oh, boy."

He then quickly scrambled to his feet, just in time before Hishiki smashed his fist on the wall where Ginji was leaning on.

"Waaaaaahh!", Ginji screamed out, turning chibi as he scampered as fast as he could away from the giant, but the mammoth protector was hot on his tail.

Iarra watched the two run around the balcony, and it reminded her briefly of Tom and Jerry. She quickly shook her head to shake the images away, and forced herself to think of ideas of how to beat the protector.

Ginji then stepped up on the balcony railing, jumped, and reached out for the chain that held the chandelier. He was thankfully able to grab it, holding on for dear life as Hishiki followed suit, leaping up from the balcony towards him.

If the protector's massive weight was not a detriment before, it was now. Hishiki dropped down before he reached the chandelier, and he landed on the floor with a loud crash.

Ginji had turned back to his normal form. He had his arms and legs wrapped around the brass chain that held the chandelier, holding on as the huge light fixture swayed. He looked down and saw the crater-like depression on the hardwood floor where Hishiki's massive body smashed it. The depression was huge, but the floor seemed to be holding up. At least, for now.

The dust cleared and Ginji saw Hishiki looking up at him, seemingly trying to figure out how to get to him. Ginji gulped as he held the chandelier chain more tightly.

Hishiki then decided to divert his attention from the perched retriever down to an easier target.

Iarra, who had her gaze directed at Ginji, then noticed that Hishiki's face was now turned to her direction. Even with those dark glasses, it was obvious that the protector's eyes were now on her.

Hishiki grinned.

"Shit," she muttered.

She found herself turning chibi as well as she scuttled away from the protector.

"Aaaaaahhh!," she found herself screaming as she found herself being chased up the grand staircase and along the balcony. She didn't feel like running around the balcony and doing another impression of Tom and Jerry, so she ran as fast as she could toward the one spot in the room that was safe from the behemoth.

"OUT OF THE WAAAYYY!," she yelled to Ginji as she leapt from the balcony railing towards the chandelier.

"AAAAAAHHH!" Ginji responded by belting out a frantic yell of his own as he saw the frenetic form of the ex-Dark Fleet agent flying towards him. He was able to move quickly to the opposite side of the chandelier just as Iarra grabbed the brass chain.

The chandelier swung as Iarra's feet landed on its branches, and the ceiling creaked at the added weight.

"Dammit," Iarra said as she looked up at the bolts that were holding the chandelier.

"It's not gonna hold us for very long," Ginji said, his eyes turned up as well. He then turned to Iarra. "What're we gonna do?"

Hishiki had stopped as Iarra jumped. He was looking up as well, his grin turning... almost gleeful as the ceiling wood cracked, causing one side of the chandelier's mounting bracket to dangle precariously.

Iarra cursed again under her breath. She then quickly turned to Ginji. "Didn't you say you fought him before?"

Ginji nodded.

"Well," she said. "You won, right?"

"Yeah, but barely," Ginji answered.

"Just do it again, then."

"It's not that simple, Iarra-chan!"

Deciding to just wait for the two to drop down to the floor, Hishiki then started to make his way back to the staircase.

The ceiling cracked again, and another curse came out of Iarra's lips. She turned back to Ginji and said, "What do you mean, 'it's not that simple'?"

Ginji replied, "He somehow gets used to whatever attack you throw at him. It's like... he gets immune to them. That's why my electric attacks aren't doing much."

She let out another curse. "Do you know if he has any weak spots?"

"I don't think so."

And another curse. "Nothing at all? There's gotta be something."

A thoughtful look came over Ginji's face. "Actually...," he said slowly. "He does have a weak spot." He then muttered, "I don't think he could get immune to THAT."

"And THAT would be...?"

Ginji gave her a meaningful look. "All guys have a certain weak spot," he said, emphasizing the word 'guys'.

Iarra just looked back at him, confused.

"No exceptions," Ginji added.

She just blinked at him.

"If you hit him there really hard," Ginji expounded. "... he won't be able to move for some time."

Iarra continued to stare at him, but now with a suspicious look on her face. Ginji just continued to blink at her meaningfully.

Finally, she asked the blond, "Are you saying what I think you're saying?"

"I don't know," Ginji answered. "What are you thinking?"

"Something that I shouldn't be thinking of!," Iarra spat out.

It was now Ginji's turn to be confused. "I don't know what you're thinking."

Iarra sighed exasperatedly. "Just tell me what the hell it is!"

"The NUTS!", Ginji whispered, as he didn't want the protector to hear him. He then blushed. "There, I said it."

The ex-agent let out a groan. "I was hoping that I was wrong."

"Go ahead, Iarra-chan. Hit him there."

"Me?", Iarra said incredulously. "Why ME?"

"Because I can't do it!"

"Why the hell not?"

"Because it's not okay for guys to do that!"

"But it's okay to suggest it?"

Ginji then turned chibi again, his little legs wrapped around the chandelier's chain. Through some sort of magical act, he was able to produce paper fans in his chibi hands, which he waved around in a cheerful dance. "You can do it, Iarra-chan!"

Iarra recovered from her astonishment to shake her head adamantly. "NO... FRIGGIN'... WAY!"

"It's easy!", chibi Ginji said as he continued his little cheer. "Even a blind girl can do it!"

"If it's so easy, then why don't YOU do it?", she countered.

Hishiki, who had already made his way down the stairs, didn't feel like waiting around any longer for his quarry to drop down from their perch.

Iarra's eyes turned to saucers as she saw the protector grab one of the chairs and hurl the thing at Ginji. "Watch out!"

Her warning came too late. The chair hit Ginji squarely on the back, and the chibi found himself falling down to the floor. "Waaaaaaaahhh!"

Hishiki caught the doll-like creature in his hands, then proceeded to squeeze the living daylights out of him.

"Iarra-chaaaaaan!", tare Ginji screamed.

The force from the chair made the chandelier swing like crazy, making the ceiling creak all the more as the bolts holding the chandelier came dangerously close to coming loose. She looked down and saw chibi Ginji's arms and legs flailing around helplessly, and another expletive came out of her lips.

Finally, gravity won out, and the bolts holding the chandelier gave way.

"Aaaaaaah!", Iarra found herself screaming as she instinctively held on to the unhelpful chain.

She was able to break her fall with a roll, but not without pieces of the shattered chandelier piercing her skin.

"Dammit," she muttered as she surveyed the numerous cuts on her arms.

"Iarra-chaaaan!"

Ginji's yell brought her back to the more urgent situation.

"Just do it, Iarra-chaaaan!", a frantic chibi Ginji yelled again.

She took another look at Ginji, and every curse word that she had ever known flew out of her lips. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, then grumbled, "Here goes nothing."

In the vast space that was the Victorian ballroom, where its top-notch acoustic design made it possible for sound to echo majestically, a loud thwack was heard.

Hishiki didn't know WHAT hit him, but he knew full well WHERE it hit him. He doubled over in incapacitating pain, quickly releasing chibi Ginji from his clutches. As soon as he was free, chibi Ginji quickly scooted over to where Iarra had scampered to.

Ginji then turned back into his normal form. With his jaw set in determination, he took a few steps forward then stretched his arms with his palms wide open towards the pained protector. Soon, his palms started to flicker with sparks of electricity.

Iarra watched in curiosity as she wondered what Ginji had in mind.

Just then, the air was filled with flying daggers. All the daggers that were in the room - from the unconscious Dark Fleet agents, even Nomi's as well as Iarra's - came hurtling towards the protector. The blades all hit Hishiki, and the giant soon fell down with a great thud.

Both Ginji and Iarra's eyes stayed glued on the behemoth, unsure of whether that finally did it. Hishiki just continued to lay on the floor, unmoving, the numerous daggers that were sticking out of his body making him look like some sort of gargantuan pin cushion.

They both released the breaths that they were holding.

Iarra reached out, and her own daggers came flying back to her. "You didn't have to take ALL of my daggers too, you know," she told Ginji.

Ginji gave her an apologetic chuckle. "Sorry, Iarra-chan. I didn't mean to." He then gave her a big smile. "See? I told you you could do it!"

"Oh, shut up. I don't want to hear a word of this ever again." She then directed her gaze back to Hishiki as she holstered her weapons back into their sheaths. "Is he dead?"

Ginji looked at the protector more closely, then shook his head. "I don't think so."

"So you probably just made him immune to all of Dark Fleet's venoms."

"Probably." Ginji then looked back at Iarra, then said simply, "We should run."

This time, Iarra had no objections. "Right."

They both then bolted out the door in chibi form.

* * *

A/N: This chapter's title, "Col Pugno", literally means "with the fist". In music, it means that the musician should bang the piano with his/her fist. I chose this title because I can imagine Hishiki doing exactly that if he was asked to play the piano.

I know I said the third part of the Ban-Shimo fight will be in this chapter. Well... I changed my mind hehehe :) I originally had it here, but then I decided to cut it out since the mood changes quite drastically. Let's just have fun in this short chapter :)

I'm estimating three more chapters after this (depending on how long they eventually turn out to be), but I do want to finish this fic before I go on vacation at the end of this month. I would hate to leave with things still hanging, so I will try my best to wrap things up nicely before that time.

To vedha:

Why did Ban just not end the fight quickly? Well, I have two reasons.

Reason #1: The room was very conducive to Shimo's abilities, which was why he wanted to fight there. All that ice slowed Ban down, and it also made Shimo's attacks stronger and faster, which Ban didn't expect. Ban is still way stronger, of course, as evidenced by Shimo's ending up on the floor several times in spite of his added advantage.

Reason #2: Ban's curiosity. He still has a bunch of questions about this mission, so he tends to stop and listen when Shimo says something.

To Atropos' Knife:

Well, I just gave myself a deadline, so I'm on a roll hehe :D Get your inbox ready.

Ahhh, yes... The random craziness... I wanted to show how Ban just takes in random bits of information and then uses them in his fights. That's how much of a battle genius he is :)

Hey, I drew some inspiration from your Hishiki fight in Sum of The Parts, and it reminded me just how hilarious that fic is :)

And thanks for the tip on in-hindsight references! I really appreciate it. It's like a light bulb went on in my head when I read that and it totally makes sense. Will definitely keep that in mind for next time!


	23. Con Duolo

Disclaimer: I still don't own GB.

* * *

**XXIII. Con Duolo**

"Shimo-kun?"

The creature was now looking at him with his beady eyes.

"I have another jar of honey here," the bear continued. "Wanna share some with me?"

The silver-haired agent just had to chuckle this time, the initial shock now wearing down. This just had to be the Jagan. That was the only logical explanation.

The bear dipped his paw into the other jar of honey, and offered his sticky furry limb towards him. "Here, have some honey with me."

Shimo shook his head, the waves of his silvery hair swaying as he did so. "It's okay. You can have it." _Why am I talking to Winnie the Pooh?_

"Why don't you want some, Shimo-kun? Don't you like honey?"

Shimo frowned. He really wanted to get out of this silly dream - and soon.

The bear's eyes then suddenly turned sinister. "What's the matter, Shimo-kun? Why don't you want some of my honey?"

The elite Dark Fleet agent found himself stepping backwards.

The bear had now stood up, his paw dripping with golden strings of the sweet syrup. "Have some honey, Shimo-kun. Have a snack with me..." He walked forward with his paw reaching out towards the elite agent. "Have some honey, Shimo-kun..."

"Aren't you rumbly in your tumbly, Shimo-kun?"

Shimo turned to where the voice came from, and gasped as another teddy bear creature with a red shirt started walking over to him. The creature gave him a menacing grin. "Have some honey, Shimo-kun."

He was now surrounded by several of the creatures, all with malevolent expressions on their faces. Some even had their fangs bared as they held out their sticky paws to him. They were all moving towards him, chanting as if they were in a zombie-like state.

"Have some honey. Have some honey. Have some honey..."

The dream went on for quite a long time - at least, in Shimo's perception. If he wasn't a fan of this particular character before, he was definitely not a fan now.

He snorted. _Iarra must've told Mido about this._

The creatures closed in, and that was when he decided to move. He whirled around with swift slashing movements, ripping the creatures into shreds. Teddy bear stuffing soon floated gently in the air, the white fibers making it seem like it was snowing.

That was when he heard another voice.

"Just one minute."

The images of the floating teddy bear stuffing then cleared and were replaced by the image of the spiky-haired Get Backer. The retriever was now at the base of the steps leading to the door out of the _Tranquility_, his tuxedo jacket slung over his shoulder.

Shimo blinked.

Mido Ban already had a cigarette dangling between his lips. He flicked his lighter close, took a long satisfying puff, then smiled. "Did you have a nice dream?"

"Was that it?" Shimo just had to chuckle in spite of himself. "I thought the Jagan would be worse than that."

"Oh, it is," Ban said, looking directly at Shimo. He then smirked. "But I got what I came here for, and that's what matters."

Shimo's chuckle died down as he felt his right cargo pant pocket and realized that the ring was no longer there.

"That's right, Frosty," Ban said, his lips turning up into a wide grin. "I have it right here." He then raised his left hand, showing Shimo the bloodstone ring that was being held by the retriever's thumb and index finger.

The elite agent glared, then aimed the tips of his daggers at the retriever. "It's not over yet, Mido," he said as the edges of his daggers glowed blue.

"Shimo."

The elite agent stopped at the sound of a female voice. He turned his head towards the sound, and his breath got caught in his throat at the sight of a familiar form sitting on one of the overhead beams.

"Iarra," he said softly.

She dropped down to the floor, then made her way towards Ban. "You should go ahead," she told the retriever when she got to his side. "Ginji's waiting for you."

Ban frowned at her. "What about you?"

"You got your target, right?" Iarra then turned her eyes to the silver-haired elite agent as she said, "Shimo and I just need to settle a few things."

Ban continued to stare at her. "You sure?"

Iarra turned back to Ban and nodded at him with an unyielding look in her eyes. "Just go," she said softly. "I'll join you guys later."

Ban sighed. "Okay, then. He's all yours." He then looked back Shimo. "Sorry, Frosty. Can't save you this time."

Shimo glared at the retriever as he snapped, "I do not need saving."

"Say what you want, but my money's on Dagger Babe," Ban said as he grinned at him, waving as he turned around to go up the steps. "See ya, later, Frosty!"

"We're not done, Mido!", Shimo yelled. He sent streaks of ice towards the retriever.

The ice quickly dissipated from the flames that shot out from Iarra's black daggers. "Yes, you are, Shimo," she told him.

Ban gave the silver-haired agent one last smirk.

Shimo watched as the door closed behind the retriever, then directed his icy blue gaze towards his former friend. The retriever wouldn't be able to go very far, anyway. Getting the ring back would just have to wait.

"You're right," he finally said in a low, quiet voice. "We do need to settle a few things." His eyes narrowed as he stepped slowly but purposefully closer to her. He stopped when he was just a few feet away from the ex-agent. "You shouldn't have come, Iarra."

He could see that she sensed his animosity. "You wanted me here," she said, her eyes steadily meeting his.

"And you actually came," he said. He then snickered at the look of uncertainty that came over her face.

"Let's just cut to the chase," she then said. "What did you want to talk to me about?"

Shimo smiled, then said, "The legacy of the Silver Claw."

Iarra frowned at him. "What do you mean?"

"Don't you think it's just befitting to have you here to witness the launch of the new Silver Claw?" He chuckled again at the confounded look on Iarra's face. "To have you formally 'pass the torch' to your successor, so to speak?"

Slowly, the meaning of what he was implying started to make sense to Iarra. She stared at him, her eyes conveying her shock.

Shimo decided to snap her out of that shock by shooting streaks of ice her way. It worked, as she reacted by leaping up and landing on one of the overhead beams.

Finally finding her voice, she said, "I don't care much about that name, Shimo. You can have it."

"Aahh, but this new role requires me to exterminate rogue agents." He smiled at her again. "You know that."

"But it doesn't require you to be an asshole," she said coolly.

Shimo's eyebrows shot up. "So you're calling me an asshole now." He then chuckled. "I think you've been spending too much time with Mido Ban. You're starting to talk like him."

"Oh, Mido Ban didn't need to teach me that." Her eyes bored into his as she continued, "I just didn't call you that before because you've never deserved it. Until now."

He snickered again. "I never would've imagined that you would resort to name-calling."

"It's not name-calling if it's true."

He gave her a smirk. "There IS another name that I know I deserve, and I want to prove it to you." He then looked at her straight in the eye, his face turning serious. "If I were to be the next Silver Claw, then that means I have to succeed in this assignment." The edges of his blades turned blue as he positioned his weapons for battle. "Isn't that how it goes, Iarra?"

She met his gaze directly, and saw the unrelenting determination in those icy blue eyes. He was definitely challenging her.

"You want me to 'pass the torch' that badly?," she finally asked in a low voice. "Fine." She narrowed her eyes, accepting the fact that the only way to get out of this fight was to go through with it. Her own blades glowed red as she said, "Here it is. Catch."

Bright tunnels of fire suddenly burst forth from her daggers, shooting directly towards Shimo. He evaded the attack, but retaliated quickly with an onslaught of razor sharp icy streaks. Flames then burned through the icy barrage as Iarra jumped down the overhead beam towards Shimo.

Shimo charged as well, meeting her in midair.

Their blades clashed.

There were no holds barred this time as the two former friends fought with fury. They let their blades speak, wasting no more time in verbal exchanges as they transformed the _Tranquility_ into a raging battlefield where fire clashed with ice.

It was intense battling. Shimo was giving the fight everything that he had, and he could see that Iarra was doing the same.

Fiery explosions collided with icy blasts, and Shimo soon found himself flying, hurtling through the air.

He was worn out, having given this battle his all, and yet, he found himself smiling. His ice blue eyes took in the criss-crossing patterns of the white overhead beams as they sailed by, the surrealism of what he was feeling making it seem like everything was in slow motion.

His back slammed against the ice on the floor, but he hardly felt it. He just laid there with a smile on his face. It was finally over.

He expected Iarra to stand over him, to give him the final blow.

But she didn't come.

His smile slowly turned into a frown.

He winced, his body protesting as he forced himself to sit up. He looked around as he tried to get his bearings, and his blue eyes landed on a mound of icy rubble. On one side of the mound protruded a pair of black boots.

His heart lurched.

He ignored the pain that was racking his body, and rushed over to the mass of broken ice.

"Iarra!"

He dug through the mound, dread filling his heart as he frantically removed as many sharp fragments as he could. Finally, he got through the ice, and he yelled out her name one more time.

She did not respond, but just had her eyes open as if she was in shock.

Blood was flowing down from a deep hole in her chest, and Shimo could see the tip of a sharp ice streak protruding out from the wound.

"No..." He cursed. This wasn't supposed to happen.

He reached for her and held her head against his chest as he desperately called out her name once more. That was when he heard a soft whisper.

"Shimo?"

He looked down at her and saw that she was looking at him. He wanted to hope that she would be okay, but the weakness in those dark brown eyes was evident. She wouldn't make it. Damn, she wouldn't make it.

She tried to curl her lips up to give him a smile. "You got me," she said softly.

"I did," he whispered back. He fought hard to keep the tears from falling.

If she had the strength, she would've laughed as she said, "I told you you would put up a good fight." Slowly, she reached up and traced his cheek with the tips of her fingers. "Why are you sad, Shimo? Isn't this what you wanted?"

He tenderly covered the hand that was stroking his cheek with his. "No," he rasped out as he squeezed her hand. "No, it's not."

The look in her eyes expressed her confusion. "I don't understand... The way you've been acting..."

This time, the tears fell as he closed his eyes. "I wanted you to be angry." Remorse filled him as he shook his head slowly. "I wanted you to be angry so that you wouldn't hold back... so that you would do all that you could to stop me from killing you."

She stared up at him. "You wanted...," she said shakily as her eyes welled up. "You wanted me to kill you?"

"I was prepared for it, yes."

"Shimo," she whispered, her tears now spilling over.

He pressed his forehead against hers. He closed his eyes, and his own tears fell down onto her face. "I didn't mean for this to happen, Iarra."

"Shimo...", she whispered again. "It's okay," she said, reassurring him as she reached up and ran her fingers through his silver waves. He could feel her attempt at a chuckle. "I knew I would face my mortality sooner or later, and I'm glad..." She then managed a weak smile. "... that it's with you."

Shimo lifted his head slightly, just enough so he could look into her eyes. "Don't talk like that, Iarra. You're not going, anywhere."

They both knew that it was a lie. She just smiled at him as she looked up into those ice blue eyes. "My times here with you... Those were the best times of my life."

"Iarra..." He choked back his sobs as he brushed the wisps of hair that were framing her face. He lowered his face once again, and let his lips graze her cheek. "Don't talk like that."

Shimo could feel the warmth of her breath against his ear as she sighed with the contact.

He brushed his lips tenderly against her cheek again, and he could taste the saltiness of his own tears as he traced gentle kisses from her cheeks to her lips. She accepted his kiss and curled her fingers more tightly around his silver waves, and his kiss grew deeper, more passionate - more desperate. She felt so soft, so delicate, so vulnerable - and his tears continued to flow freely as he savored the taste of her mouth on his.

Shimo lifted his head again to look at her. "Don't go," he said softly. As soon as those two words came out of his mouth, he knew that they were in vain.

"Shimo." There was peace in her eyes as she whispered his name. "I'm happy..." She was struggling now, with her breath coming in tiny gasps. "... that I'm able to see you one last time."

"No," he said, shaking his head. "Don't talk like that. Don't go, Iarra."

She didn't say anything else. Her breath became more shallow, and her eyes drifted up past Shimo, as if something far away was calling out to her.

He couldn't bear watching her, so he pressed her head against his shoulder and wrapped his arms around her tightly.

"I love you, Iarra," he whispered.

He didn't know if she heard him, but he continued to hold her until her body became limp, and the hand that was grasping his silver waves finally let go.

He wept.

* * *

A/N: This chapter's title, "Con Duolo", is another musical term that means "with grief, sorrow".

I'm glad you guys enjoyed the previous chapter. I think you understand now why I had to cut this out. You probably didn't like this ending very much, and I know I'm being mean to end it this way, but all I can say is... The next chapter's coming! So please hold on to those tomatoes that you want to throw at me, and just stay tuned!

To vedha:

Yeah, Iarra turned chibi. That would be the Hishiki Effect. And yeah, we haven't seen the end of Hishiki. He'll still be around, unfortunately hehe. And uhhh... I don't think that was the kind of illusion that you had in mind. I'm really sorry for making it a bit creepy. That was the Jagan, after all, and was supposed to be a nightmare. I hope I didn't ruin the Pooh for you.

To Atropos' Knife:

Me imagining you choking on your pasta is a welcome reward for the previous chapter. (I mean, I'm glad you found it funny. Not that I want you to choke!) LOL And ummm... You expected hilarity, and I gave you angsty romance. How's that for unexpected? Yeah, it's not the kind of surprise that you would like, I know. This is the last angsty part in this fic, so it'll get better after this, I promise!


	24. Volante

Disclaimer: I don't own GB.

* * *

**XXIV. Volante**

Shimo trudged along the narrow hallway, his heart heavy.

He did it. He followed his boss Shinzaki-san's orders and killed the rogue agent - the rogue agent that just happened to be the girl that he loved.

His chest seemed to constrict once again.

She was always on his mind, yes, but it was only when she was lying in his arms, looking up at him with that peaceful look in her eyes did he just realize that he loved her.

_"The Silver Claw... He really must be as merciless as they say."_

He remembered telling her that while they were in that mission with The Ram.

He chuckled bitterly. Merciless. It was a description that was very suitable for Dark Fleet's shadow agent - which, regretfully, now applied to him.

His face became grim at the thought. Yes, he was merciless. He had just killed his beloved. Whatever else Dark Fleet would assign to him couldn't possibly be more difficult.

_I am now the Silver Claw._

His ice blue eyes hardened. He had to embrace this role fully now. There was no turning back.

Yes, he was now the Silver Claw, and right now, he still had a task to do.

* * *

Mido Ban had already put his tuxedo jacket back on, with the bloodstone ring tucked safely inside his jacket pocket.

It was time to go.

He wasn't sure exactly where to go and how he would be able to meet up again with his partner, so he decided to just trust his instincts. As he ran along the empty corridor, the grief that the silver-haired elite agent expressed still lingered in his mind. It made him wonder if the Jagan that he had given was a bit too harsh.

It started out with the ridiculous images of the character that he knew Shimo abhorred. And yes, it was so ridiculous that the agent had quickly figured out that it was a dream - which was exactly what he intended. That way, Shimo wasn't prepared for what came next.

The second phase of the dream was something that the Jagan Master had designed at the last minute. In the fight with Shimo just before the Jagan, it had been very obvious to him that the agent had Iarra in his thoughts. Shimo really wanted to talk to her - very badly. It intrigued him, and so he let the agent see her just to find out what he had to say.

It was in that second phase that Ban did discover what Shimo wanted to tell her. And damn, what an important piece of information that was. In the dream, Shimo had unknowingly revealed to the retriever that he was now Dark Fleet's new shadow agent.

That, and something else.

_Damn fool had a weird way of showing that he was in love with her_, Ban thought as he shook his head.

He planned the last part of the Jagan as well, but it surprised him how even he himself, the Jagan Master, found it difficult to watch.

Was he too harsh, then?, Ban asked himself. Maybe, but he really did believe that it was necessary for Shimo to think that he killed Iarra.

He had just turned a corner when something bumped hard into him, snapping him quickly out of his musings.

"Ooooomph!", he grunted.

The bump was followed immediately by another hard bump, and the impact made him fall down on his back. As he made contact with the floor, he felt small sparks of electricity run through his body.

"Yooooooww!"

Electricity. He almost gasped as he saw the blond head coming up from over his shoulder.

"Ban-chaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan!"

He winced at the decibel levels that almost broke his eardrums.

"Ginji?", Ban said as he blinked to get his bearings.

"Ban-chan! I'm soooo glad we found you!"

"Can you please celebrate later AFTER you get off of me?"

That last one was a muffled female voice.

"Oh, sorry, Iarra-chan!", Amano Ginji said as he rolled himself off the ex-agent, who had been running in front of him just before they both bumped into his partner.

Iarra raised her head from Ban's chest, groaning as she rubbed the sore spot on her head where Ginji's chin had sharply poked her when they all dropped to the floor.

"Dagger Babe," Ban said.

Her eyes landed on his, and that was when she noticed just how close she was to him.

He gave her a lopsided smile. "What a nice surprise. I didn't think you were the type to throw yourself at me to grab my attention."

That remark earned him a right hook.

"Owwwww!", he said, turning chibi as he rubbed the part on his jaw where Iarra's fist connected with.

"If I wanted to grab your attention, THAT'S what I would've done!", Iarra spat out.

"Aww, c'mon! Didn't you feel the sparks?"

She just glared at Ban as she rolled off from their position, which she found to be a little bit too snug.

"Ban-chan," his partner said. "That was from me."

"Gee thanks, Ginji," he said dryly. "I never would've figured that out."

"You're welcome!" Ginji, who was totally oblivious to Ban's eye roll, chirped exuberantly. "So did you beat Shimo?"

"Of course I did. He didn't even graze me."

"Does that mean you have the ring?"

"Right here," Ban replied, patting the breast pocket of his tuxedo jacket.

"Yey!"

The spiky-haired Get Backer just had to smile at his partner's enthusiastic cheer.

"You didn't kill him, did you?"

The question was from Iarra. He directed his gaze to the ex-elite agent, and saw the concern in her dark brown eyes.

"No," Ban answered. He then gave her another lopsided smile. "Just gave him a dream, that's all."

"Really," she said as she raised an eyebrow. "What did you show him?"

He paused, which made her look back at him curiously. Finally, he answered, "A bunch of Winnie the Poohs."

His answer made her burst out laughing. "Oh, you're evil!"

The dark-haired retriever gazed back at her and watched her laugh. There was a split in her lip, where blood had already dried out; her left cheek was swollen; her arms had several small cuts and scratches; and her right pant leg had a large tear.

"You're gonna traumatize him for life," she chortled out.

His gaze shifted back up to her face. She was bruised heavily, yes, but it didn't seem to affect her that much as her face was currently lit up with laughter.

That last Jagan felt incredibly real, even for the Jagan Master - so real that he could actually feel a sense of relief at the sound of life coming out of the ex-elite agent.

A wistful smile then came over his lips. "You have no idea."

* * *

The dark silhouette of a black helicopter greeted Ban, Ginji, and Iarra as they rounded the corner to the helipad. The helicopter's right side was facing them, and as they neared the aircraft, Iarra could make out Yosuke's shadow through the clear glass of the cockpit. She frowned as she noticed that he was sitting at the front right, which was where the pilot's seat was.

She quickly ran to the pilot's door and opened it.

"Oh," Yosuke said, seemingly surprised as he looked down at her. He smiled as he saw Ban and Ginji right behind her. "You all made it."

"Yipee. Now, get out of the way," Iarra barked out. "We need to get going." Her frown grew deeper when Yosuke didn't move. "And I mean, RIGHT NOW."

Yosuke just frowned. "Are you planning to fly this thing?"

"Yeah. Who else is gonna do it?" She then saw the expression on his face and frowned back. "Are YOU planning to fly this thing?"

"I AM Tomita-san's backup pilot, you know," he answered smugly.

"No, I don't know," she retorted.

"Plus, you don't have the ignition key, and I do," he said as he held up said object.

Iarra scowled as she looked at the key that was in the boy's hand. "Well, I was gonna hotwire it...", she muttered. She looked back at Yosuke and narrowed her eyes in suspicion. "Have you even flown it before?"

"Of course!," he answered.

Ban then decided to butt in. "So you've actually flown this thing."

"Yes!", Yosuke said exasperatedly.

"Well, Yosuke IS a mechanical genius!", Ginji chimed in. "I'm pretty sure he could could do it!"

Ban then looked pointedly at Iarra. "I think I'm more comfortable if the pilot seat is occupied by somebody with actual EXPERIENCE, not just LESSONS."

Iarra rolled her eyes, then grumbled, "Fine. I'm co-piloting, then." She slammed the pilot's door, then turned to the Get Backers. "Once we start the liftoff process, Dark Fleet will be alerted to our location, so..."

"So you need us to hold them back," Ban continued her sentence.

"That shouldn't be a problem, should it?"

"Of course not!," Ban said sarcastically. "More daggers flying at us while you're safely hiding in the chopper shouldn't be a problem at all."

"We'll take care of them, Iarra-chan!" Ginji said with a smile.

"That's the spirit!", Iarra said. Although she was smiling at Ginji, her exaggerated enthusiasm was pointed sharply at Ban. Her smile then turned into a glare as she looked back at the grumpier half of the Get Backers.

"What?", Ban asked with an innocent look on his face. "Most people are not eager to be dagger targets."

She didn't reply, but just started to make her way to the left side of the cockpit.

"And just so you know, that's COMPLETELY normal!", Ban called out after her.

She rolled her eyes as she opened the door and got in.

Yosuke already had one of the headsets on. Iarra reached up the helicopter ceiling where the other headsets were tucked in. She got one, put it over her head, and adjusted the mouthpiece.

"Alright," she said, her voice resounding over their headsets. She looked at Yosuke and smiled. "Let's roll."

The boy nodded. He reached over the control board, inserted the key, and turned the ignition switch on. Soon, the rotor blades started to move.

Ban and Ginji situated themselves between the right side of the helicopter and the outer wall of the cabin that faced the helipad. The agents would be coming soon.

The wind started to pick up around the helipad as the rotors gained speed, ruffling Ban's dark spikes and Ginji's blond hair as they stood in position. The rotors continued to spin faster and faster, and soon the retrievers' tuxedo jackets started flailing wildly around.

As expected, the Dark Fleet agents soon appeared.

Ban glanced over at his partner, who looked back at him with a smile.

Ginji's lips didn't move, but his eyes conveyed the unspoken question, 'Ready?'

Ban smirked back and nodded.

The Dark Fleet agents came from both sides of the cabin, and soon, daggers came raining down on the retrievers.

Together, the Get Backers charged, turning the helipad into a tumultuous frenzy of flying daggers, lightning flashes, and Dark Fleet agents being hurled across the deck boards.

The rotation of the helicopter blades had almost reached its required speed. Yosuke was just about to start pulling the collective-pitch lever (1) when a dagger hit the glass window right beside him, making him gasp in surpise.

The dagger soon flew away as its owner summoned it, leaving a crack in the window.

"Keep going, Yosuke," Iarra told the boy. "We just have to trust the Get Backers now."

"Right," he answered. He then put his left hand back on the collective and pulled it slowly. The fuselage started to react to the torque produced by the rotors, so he depressed the left foot pedal to counteract it.

Iarra couldn't help but be impressed as she watched Yosuke delicately play around with the controls, making sure that the helicopter was balanced and aligned in the right direction. The kid did know this stuff. She then turned her attention to the instrument panel closely as the aircraft started its lifting process. Noticing that it was taking a longer time that she expected, she frowned.

"We seem to be heavier than normal," she remarked.

"That's because this is a highly modified chopper," Yosuke said with a proud grin on his face.

"Modified?", she asked curiously. "In what way?"

The boy's grin turned into a smug one. "It's got two small rockets underneath."

"No way," Iarra breathed out as she looked at Yosuke in amazement.

"See this?" He pointed at a small touchscreen on the instrument panel. "This controls them."

She chuckled. "You Yakuza types really do have a tendency to be flashy."

"Yeah, the bosses like lots of firepower," Yosuke chuckled back.

Ban hit the last Dark Fleet agent on the stomach. The agent bent down in pain, and Ban finished it off by slamming the agent's face down the deck boards. He adjusted his purple glasses, and that was when he noticed a gargantuan shadow standing on one side of the cabin.

_That shape looks awfully familiar_, Ban thought, dread starting to come over him.

The shadow started walking towards them, and Ginji's eyes almost popped out of their sockets as he shakily gasped, "H-h-h-Hishiki-san?"

Iarra's mouth dropped open as she caught sight of the giant protector. "You've GOT to be kidding me," she uttered in disbelief. She then quickly turned to Yosuke and yelled, "We have to take off NOW!"

"I'm TRYING!", the boy yelled back. "I need a little more time!"

Iarra swore under her breath. She then reached over to the intsrument panel and started fooling around with the small touchscreen that Yosuke had just shown her.

"What're you doing?", Yosuke asked her suspiciously.

She didn't reply, but just continued to explore the options on the touchscreen.

"WHAT'RE YOU DOING?", Yosuke asked again, this time a little bit more frantically.

"Just concentrate on lifting off, kiddo!", Iarra snapped back.

Ryoudo Hishiki had already stepped out onto the helipad. He held up his right hand, made a fist, then pumped it into the palm of his other hand in a crushing motion. Slowly, menacingly, the protector turned his head to the blond Get Backer and gave him a grin that said 'It's payback time'.

Ginji gulped, while Ban muttered, "Shit."

Before Hishiki could move, the belly of the helicopter opened up, and a rocket suddenly fired, heading straight towards the protector.

The rocket exploded, and Ban and Ginji found themselves being thrown against the side of the helicopter. They dropped down to the deck boards, and they both covered their heads with their arms to protect themselves from the debris.

* * *

A loud explosion rocked the aft side of the _Pristine_, making Shimo lose his balance.

He gasped as flames erupted at the end of the hallway that he was in. He quickly got up and dashed towards it, stopping at the edge of the blazing hole on the floor. He peered down and saw that the decks below him had the same large hole, which looked like it went all the way down to the engine room.

He cursed.

He turned his head up to see where it came from, and the nighttime sky greeted him through the massive burning hole in the ceiling. Over the roar of the scorching fire, he could hear the rumbling sound of helicopter rotors turning.

Shimo hurriedly turned around and ran down the hallway.

* * *

The blast soon died down, and Ban peered over his arm to check the damage. Hishiki had disappeared, and in his place was a giant flaming hole.

Ban's mouth dropped open. "Holy..."

"... smokes," Iarra said as she stared out from the cockpit at the destruction that the rocket had just inflicted.

Yosuke turned to Iarra, also with his jaw wide open. "You just fired a rocket at a person."

With her awe-filled eyes still glued to the blazing inferno, she said abesentmindedly, "I did."

Yosuke frowned, annnoyed at the spacey-sounding reply. "Have you gone CRAZY?", he said more loudly. "You just fired a ROCKET at a PERSON!"

Iarra snapped out of her shock and turned to the boy. "That's no ordinary person, kid. You might find this hard to believe, but Ryoudo Hishiki will be fine. Now can you please, PLEASE, take off before that fire catches up to us?"

The boy grumbled under his breath, but complied.

Soon, the helicopter started to get light on its skids, and its body started to slowly lift off the deck boards.

The retrievers took that as their cue to get on the aircraft, which was a very appealing proposition as the fire was now quickly making its way toward them.

* * *

Shimo stormed up the stairs, burst out of the door to the outdoor area, then ran along the yacht's railing toward the aft helipad. Through the blazing fire, he caught a glimpse of the retrieval duo as they were just getting on the rapidly ascending helicopter.

He was too late.

The silver-haired agent watched them for a moment, his ice blue eyes narrowed into slits.

"Get Backers," he finally said. "You got the ring, alright, but I'll be generous and give you something much more."

The blond had already slid inside the helicopter, and his partner followed close behind.

"Here's a parting gift," Shimo said as he looked up at the dark-haired retriever, who was just in the act of stepping into the aircraft. "Mido Ban."

* * *

The helicopter had just started hovering when Ginji got up the skids and opened the passenger door.

Ban could feel the heat from the fire that was rabidly devouring the remaining deck boards. "Hurry up, Ginji!", he yelled over the roar of the helicopter's blades.

Ginji quickly scooted over to the seat behind Iarra to make room for his partner, and Ban immediately took his seat behind Yosuke as the helicopter continued its ascent. He was just about to close the door when he felt something sharp hit him on his right thigh. He looked down and cursed.

It was a dagger.

Through the light coming from the flames below, he could see that the blade had a silvery blue hue, and that its handle seemed to be covered in frost.

* * *

A/N: This chapter's title, "Volante", literally means "flying" in Italian. In music, it is used to direct the musicians to play the piece quickly, but lightly - like you're flying :). I chose this title simply because... well, they're flying now hehe :)

Yeah, that last chapter was just a really bad dream. Winnie the Pooh was a decoy Jagan. If you notice, it was all written in Shimo's POV.

I'm in my raincoat, so you can feel free to throw those tomatoes at me now :)

Oh, and I miscalculated a bit on the number of chapters. There will be two more after this. This was supposed to be a longer chapter, but I decided to cut it (again!) so that the fic won't be hanging on sadness any longer than it needs to. I would've posted this sooner, but this site's login page was having problems. Since I couldn't login, I couldn't update :(

Aaaand I just got swamped with a lot of things, so I may not finish it before my vacation. Dang... I'll do what I can, though...

(1) The collective-pitch lever is located at the left of the pilot's seat and is the control that is responsible for the helicopter's up and down movements. It is also just called "collective" for short.

To vedha:

Your imagination may be running wildly, but it's running in the right direction :) And I made the fight short since I didn't want that to be the focus. Plus, since it was really a dream, the details were meant to be hazy hehe. And no, I haven't forgotten your request. I put some Ban-Iarra hints in here. Did you see them? :)

To Atropos' Knife:

Your review just made it in time for me to reply here :D And yes, I DID write a Romance/Angst scene. Yikes. Honestly, I was dreading it. But I'm glad it turned out well :D Even though I'm biased towards Ban-Iarra, the Shimo-Iarra pairing is kind of interesting too, so I decided to make the latter tragic. I mean, what the heck? Just go for it, Mayumi-san LOL And you're right, the Shimo-Iarra fight was intentionally abrupt. And Inception? Man, are you good or what? :D


	25. Bocca Chiusa

Disclaimer: I still don't own GB.

* * *

**XXV. Bocca Chiusa**

The helicopter had taken off now, high above the _Pristine_, when the ice dagger flew back down. With the fire now swallowing up the helipad, it was hard to see where it flew back to.

_Damn_, Mido Ban thought as he slammed the helicopter door shut. Maybe he should've tied Shimo up, instead of just dragging him out into the hallway. But then again, that would've undone the illusion that he had conjured up for the silver-haired elite agent.

Nobody seemed to notice what just happened. His partner, Amano Ginji, had just settled in the seat next to him; in front of the blond was Iarra, whose hands were flying around the various controls on the helicopter's instrument panel; and right beside her was their pilot, Yosuke, who was also preoccupied with handling the cyclic and collective levers (1) to control the helicopter's movement.

The helicopter turned and through the clear glass windows, they were able to see the extent of the devastation on the _Pristine_. Large clouds of smoke billowed out from the helipad, which was now completely engulfed in flames. Hitting the yacht with a rocket at such a close range had really caused some major damage.

It was an incredible sight, especially for someone who had several memories associated with the the luxury yacht.

Iarra stared at the massive blaze that was spreading rapidly, hungrily devouring the vessel with its flames. The engine room was most likely hit, and if the rocket had created a breach in the hull, then there could be a real possibility of the ship sinking. They would have to abandon ship in that case. She closed her eyes, and in her mind, she could see the _Pristine's_ crew frantically trying to create some semblance of order amidst the chaos.

Ban saw her close her eyes briefly and her shoulders slump slightly as a sigh escaped from her lips. He then averted his gaze and looked out the window just as she turned her attention back to the instrument panel.

She made a few more adjustments on the various switches and knobs. Once she was satisfied, she reached up and handed Ban and Ginji the remaining headsets that were tucked in the helicopter ceiling.

Once the retrievers had the headsets on, Yosuke asked, "I guess we're heading back to Tokyo?"

"I guess so," Iarra replied, then reached out once again to the instrument panel. "I'll set up the navigation system."

Yosuke acknowledged her with a nod.

"Wait," Ban said. "What about my car?"

"Forget about your car, Mido," Iarra answered. "That place will be swarming with Dark Fleet agents."

"Forget about my car?", Ban repeated with disbelief. "FORGET ABOUT MY CAR? That's easy for you to say since it's not yours!"

"At least your car's recoverable!", Iarra snapped, turning her head to him to give him a stern glare. "You're not the only one who's lost something. If you can remember, I've lost my bike, too, which, by the way, is YOUR doing! I don't wanna risk our lives just because somebody's being sentimental." She then turned back to the instrument panel.

She could feel those blue eyes pierce her as the dark-haired retriever glared.

She sighed. "Look," she said, more softly this time. "It's in a hidden spot. You can come back for it tomorrow. It'll be easier to get it back then." She then chuckled. "Get it back," she repeated, turning to give Ban a lopsided smile. "I'm sure the Get Backers will have no problem with that. That's what you do, right?"

He didn't respond but just continued to scowl at her. Iarra gave him an amused smile then turned to focus on the navigation screen.

There was silence in the cockpit as the helicopter continued its flight. Soon, the _Pristine_ was no longer within their sight, and all they could see below them was the shimmering glow of the moonlight against the darkness of the water. In the distance, flickering city lights appeared on the horizon.

It was then that Ban broke the silence.

"Say, Dagger Babe," the spiky-haired retriever said nonchalantly. "What did you say happens when you get hit with one of Shimo's ice daggers?"

"Your body may freeze from the inside," she answered absentmindedly. Her eyes were still focused straight ahead when she added, "Depending on the dosage."

"Oh," the spiky-haired retriever said. He paused for a while. "Out of curiosity... Does it paralyze your body, too?"

"Yes," she replied. "Being frozen means that you're paralyzed, but much worse because of the biting cold."

Ban muttered, "Great."

Iarra frowned at the tone of Ban's voice. She turned her head to him, but he didn't say anything more as he looked back at her. She studied his face, and her brows furrowed as she noticed that he was looking a little pale.

Her voice was tense when she finally asked, "Didn't you say that he didn't even graze you?"

"I did," he answered. "Which was true when I said that."

Her frown grew deeper at his usage of past tenses.

"Things have changed since then," he added.

Ginji was now looking at his partner with anxiety, and Iarra's eyes began to take on a distraught expression as she continued to stare at him.

Her face then turned serious as she spoke rapidly. "Where'd you get hit?"

Ban pointed to his right thigh, where a small rip on his pants was. "It's starting to get numb now."

Iarra looked at his thigh and saw the stab wound. "That's the Ice Sting," she said, her voice turning grave. "When did that happen?"

"Just when we were taking off."

She quickly reached out to put her hand on Ban's forehead.

He was cold to the touch.

She swore sharply as she turned back to look out the helicopter windshield.

Yosuke, who had been listening to the conversation, glanced at Iarra. "Don't you have the antidote, Iarra-san?", he asked.

She continued to stare out the windshield before answering softly, "No, not for this one."

There was silence again in the cockpit. Yosuke watched Iarra out of the corner of his eye as she fixed her gaze outside at the clear expanse before them, her face lined with anxiety.

"Isn't there something we can do?", Ginji worried voice broke out over their headsets.

She furrowed her brows but said nothing.

"So if you got hit with the Ice Sting, that's it?", Ban asked incredulously. "There's no antidote?"

It was then that a look of realization came over Iarra's face. "You know what?", she said quietly, her eyes still fixed at a faraway point outside as an idea started to form in her mind. "I do have the antidote."

She then quickly turned to the navigation system and started pressing some buttons. "I'm gonna try to see if there's a faster route. Maybe we can use the wind direction to our advantage," she told Yosuke.

The boy nodded in acknowledgment.

"And Ginji?," Iarra said, a serious tone in her voice.

"Hai?"

"Make sure your partner's warm."

"Hai." Ginji then started to take off his tuxedo jacket to put over Ban's shoulders.

Iarra paused from pushing buttons on the navigation screen and turned to look Ban in the eye. Her eyes still look troubled, but her voice was filled with determination as she told him, "Just hang in there, okay? We're gonna get you out of this." She then turned back to the controls, muttering, "Damn you, Shimo."

* * *

Wan Paul, the owner of the Honky Tonk cafe, stifled a yawn as he rubbed the sleep off his eyes. It was still in the wee hours of the morning. He didn't usually go to the cafe at this hour, but an agitated call caused today's change in the Honky Tonk's opening hours.

Paul put his glasses back on as he made his way to the coffee maker. Better start brewing before he falls back to sleep.

As he watched the coffee grinder do its work, he tried to remember the phone call that woke him up.

He remembered being roused from his slumber by the sound of his phone ringing. He wasn't planning on picking up, but the persistence of the caller urged him to do so. He remembered looking at the call display and seeing Ginji's name. Since it was unusual for the retriever to be calling him at that hour, he had guessed that something was up. He remembered answering the phone with a groggy sounding 'Hello?'.

The grinder stopped whirring, so he paused from his ruminations and unloaded the contents to the brewer. After pouring the right amount of water and turning the brewer on, he thought back again to the conversation that he had with the blond retriever.

He frowned. All he could recall was that Ginji sounded really worried as he said something about Ban being frozen. The cafe owner couldn't make sense of anything else after that, partly because his mind was still half-asleep, but mostly because there was a loud rumbling sound in the background that was drowning out Ginji's voice.

_What was that rumbling sound?_, Paul wondered. It sounded almost like the blond was very close to a helicopter when he called.

As he watched the brewer pour dark brown liquid into the clear glass coffee pot, the faint sound of a helicopter roared in the distance.

Paul continued his contemplation. _Yeah, it sounded like that. It must've been a helicopter, then._

Soon, the thunderous sound of the helicopter rotors got louder, and louder, and LOUDER.

The cafe owner frowned. The rumblings that he heard over the phone sounded EXACTLY like that.

Through the glass windows of the Honky Tonk, he could see the shadows of the trees across the street. The gentle fluttering of their leaves was now replaced by the wild swaying of their branches.

The helicopter that was causing the movements seemed to be getting close - REALLY close.

As he continued to look outside, the roaring sound got louder, and the wind blowing around the trees got stronger. Soon afterward, he could see the landing skids of a helicopter.

The Honky Tonk owner's mouth dropped open.

He watched as the black helicopter continued its descent. It was a small four-seater aircraft, and it fit just barely on the street in front of the cafe.

The rotor blades seemed to hit something as the helicopter moved down, hurling the object, possibly towards the next block. Paul's mouth dropped open even further when he realized that the hurled object was the Honky Tonk neon sign that was hanging - or rather, used to be hanging - at one of the top corners of the door.

The downwash (2) from the rotor blades had inadvertently picked up some rocks from the street, flinging them into the cafe's glass window. It broke several of the glass pieces as they flew between the wooden grids, and Paul found himself ducking behind the counter to avoid the shattered fragments.

The helicopter soon settled down on the street, and Paul could hear that the rotor blades had started to slow down.

Slowly, he peered over the counter. In the darkness outside, he could make out some figures walking toward the door. He straightened himself up.

The door opened, but the bell chime that usually greeted customers couldn't be heard over the roar of the rotors. A strong gust of wind from the helicopter blades then blew into the small cafe as the figures walked in.

Ginji led the way, with his tuxedo jacket wrapped tightly around Ban who had his right arm draped over his partner. Ban's other arm was slung over a girl's shoulder, and together, she and Ginji helped to drag the dark-haired retriever inside. Ginji and the girl both looked at the cafe owner in acknowledgment, but didn't say a word as they concentrated on supporting Ban's limp body.

Paul frowned. It was more serious than he thought.

He directed his attention to Ban, who had hid eyes open, but didn't seem like he was able to move. He watched as the two seated the dark-haired retriever into one of the booths, letting his back lean against the wall as they lifted his legs onto the seat.

The girl seated herself on the table, then turned to look at Ban. "Mido, if you can hear me," she yelled over the roar of the helicopter blades. "Blink."

Ban blinked.

"Good," she said, her voice still loud so that it wouldn't be drowned out by the rumbling rotors. "It hasn't reached your brain. We just need to make sure your internal organs don't freeze." She turned to Ginji, who was standing at the edge of the table, worriedly watching her. "If you can find some more blankets, that would be great. We need to make sure his chest area is warm."

Paul snapped into action and hurriedly made his way into the cafe's backroom. Ginji followed close behind.

Ban could still move his eyes, so he watched Iarra as she settled her feet on the seat underneath his legs.

She had just leaned down to look at Ban's right thigh when she noticed him looking at her. She didn't know what he was thinking, but she remembered how she felt when she was under the effect of the Ice Sting - how frigidly cold her body was, and how frustrated she was at being unable to do anything.

With firm resolve in her eyes, she told him, "Stay with me, Mido."

She also remembered how reasurring it was when Shimo had said that to her.

She then turned back to look at the wound.

On the way to the cafe, Iarra concentrated on recalling exactly what Shimo did when she herself had the Ice Sting. She replayed the scene over and over in her mind to make sure that she did not miss anything, especially that part when he told her explicitly what the antidote contained.

She remembered looking at the red liquid that was in a flask.

_"What's in it, anyway?", she had asked him._

_"My blood," Shimo had answered._

Ban continued to watch as she reached down and ripped the fabric of his pant leg, widening the hole so she could take a closer look at the wound.

_"I've added some Neutralizing Venom to temporarily disable your antibodies so that your body won't fight my blood...", Shimo's voice played in her mind._

Neutralizing Venom. She took a bead from her bodice and squeezed it over the cut. Soon, clear liquid dripped toward the wound.

Paul and Ginji had now come back from the backroom, with Ginji in the act of hastily spreading out a folded blanket. The blond then quickly made his way to the booth next to where Ban was. He reached over the seat to wrap the fleece blanket comfortably around his partner's shoulders.

The helicopter rotors had already stopped turning, and soon, the door opened and Yosuke walked in.

Iarra paid no attention to them and just continued to concentrate on her task.

_"... plus some antiseptic to clean your wound and to aid in the healing process..."_

Antiseptic. She took another bead, squeezing its contents over the slit on Ban's thigh.

_"I also heated it up so that your body can easily take it in."_

She frowned. She didn't think she had time for that. She reached behind her back and pulled one of her black daggers out, making Ginji, who settled himself in the next booth, look at her in surprise. She gave him a reassuring smile. "It's gonna be okay," she said.

Ginji hesitated, but just nodded as he continued to watch her.

She flipped the dagger into a reverse grip, pointed its tip toward Ban's wound, then wrapped her left hand around the black blade.

The edges of the blade turned red.

With determination in her eyes, she squeezed the blade hard. The blade then suddenly flared up, which made her wince with pain, but she did not let go. Soon, red fluid started to drip down the sides of the flaming blade, down the tip, and into Ban's cut. The flames soon stopped, and the blade went back into its original black color. She grunted in pain as she quickly moved her hand to her side and released her hold, letting the dagger fall down on the table that she was sitting on. Tendrils of smoke came up from the edges of the blade. She glanced at the cut and burns in her own hand, but dismissed them quickly as she reached over and placed her other hand on the skin surrounding Ban's cut.

He was still cold.

She cursed as she closed her eyes. _Please work_, she thought, as if saying so would coax her blood into action. _You have to work._

Just then, the beginnings of warmth seemed to prod at her fingertips.

She opened her eyes. Yes, it was faint, but she could definitely feel the warmth coming back. A look of relief came over her face. She turned to Ban, whose blue eyes were still fixed on her as he watched her closely. She smiled at him. "You're gonna be fine."

Ginji let out his own sigh of relief. "Thank you, Iarra-chan."

She gave the blond as smile as well. "Just give him some time for the antidote to fully work." She then turned to pick up her black dagger. The blade still had some of her blood, so she wiped it against her pants before putting it back into the sheath behind her back.

"So that's the antidote?", Ginji asked her curiously.

She just answered with, "Yeah." She then looked at Paul, who was seated on one of the bar stools. It was evident that the man had a lot of questions in his mind. "Didn't mean to be rude," she said. "I'm Iarra, by the way."

"Wan Paul," the cafe owner replied. "Pleased to meet you."

Yosuke took that as his cue to introduce himself as well. "And I'm Yosuke."

"Pleased to meet you too, Yosuke," Paul said. He then saw Iarra glance at the cut on her left hand. "I've got some bandages in the back. Would you like some?"

Thinking that the answer to that question should be obvious, Iarra answered, "Nah, I think I'd prefer to just let my blood drip all over your cafe."

Paul stared back at her blankly, which made her chuckle.

"I was kidding," she said with amusement. She then smiled at him. "Yes, bandages would be nice. Thank you very much."

Paul frowned, then gave her a smile that said that he was still unsure what to make of the newcomer. "I'll be right back." He then stood up and walked over to the backroom once again.

Iarra watched him disappear behind the door, then muttered, "I thought he would have a sense of humor." She shrugged, then turned to Yosuke. "So what's your plan?"

The boy frowned. "What do you mean?"

"You can't really go back to your clan's headquarters. Where do you plan to go after this?"

"I... I don't know." His frown grew deeper. His decision to leave his Yakuza clan hadn't really sunk in until now. "I haven't really thought about it."

She thought for a minute, then turned to Ginji. "Didn't you say he was a mechanical genius?"

Ginji nodded. "He is!"

"Well," she said, turning back to the boy. "I know some people who might find that useful."

Yosuke looked back at her. "Really? Who?"

She just smiled. "You can come with me later and you'll find out."

The boy seemed intrigued. He thought about it for a moment, then shrugged. "Sure. I have nowhere else to go, anyway."

It was then that Paul came out of the backroom, holding a roll of bandages and a small jar, which he both handed to Iarra.

She looked at the jar curiously.

"For your burns," he said, answering her unspoken question.

"Oh," she said. "Thanks."

She then unscrewed the cap and proceeded to apply the burn-soothing paste to her left hand. "I'm wondering," she said. "How'd your cafe get to be the Get Backer's headquarters?"

The cafe owner snickered at the question. "This is certainly not their headquarters. They just hang out here a lot for some reason."

"Ne, Master," Ginji said, smiling. "Where else would we hang out?"

"You mean, where else can you get food that you don't pay for?"

"Eh-hehehe," Ginji chuckled sheepishly.

Iarra looked back at Paul. "You give them free food?"

"They wish," Paul answered with a snort. "I'm still waiting for that day when they actually pay me back."

Iarra glanced at Ginji as she finished screwing the jar cap back on, then asked, "But aren't you guys supposed to be Shinjuku's best retrieval team?"

"We are!", Ginji piped.

"Then you should be getting paid a lot," she remarked as she set the jar down on the table.

"Yeah, they should be," Paul said. "Except that they have really bad luck with money."

"Well, Ban-chan handles all the money."

Iarra, who had already started unrolling the bandages to wrap around her left hand, looked back at Ginji curiously. "Really."

Realizing that the statement had just put his partner in a bad light, the blond quickly added, "But it's not his fault. There was one time he made sure that we got paid with something that had a higher value than the client's original offer. It would've made us live like kings..."

Ginji's smile turned into a frown. "... if that payment didn't turn out to be a platinum melon."

The blond then remembered that he was supposed to make his partner sound better, so he continued, "Or sometimes, we get a weird client who ends up in jail afterwards, so he couldn't pay us. Or sometimes we DO get paid, but then we have to pay towing fees and stuff like that."

"Towing fees?", Iarra repeated as she pulled her silver dagger out to cut the bandage.

"Yeah, from parking illegally."

Iarra was smiling in amusement now.

Ginji frowned again as he realized that he wasn't doing a very good job of boosting his partner's image. "And this is the part when he usually tells me to shut up."

She chuckled as she turned to Ban, whose bright blue eyes were murderously directed at his blabbering partner. "I bet you're feeling really frustrated right now on not being able to open that mouth."

The murderous glare shifted to her, which made her chuckle all the more.

Paul couldn't help but chuckle as well as he made his way behind the counter. Once he got there, he took the pot of freshly brewed coffee and asked, "Would any of you like some coffee?"

Iarra shook her head as she put her silver dagger back into the sheath at her hip. "Thanks, but I should be heading out soon."

Paul turned to Yosuke, who also shook his head. "I don't drink coffee, but thanks."

"I can have a cup," Ginji said as he stood up and stretched. "It's been a looong night."

The cafe owner said, "This would usually go on your tab, but since I was planning to give our guests a complimentary cup of coffee and they declined, you can have their share."

"Yey!", the blond chirped.

As Paul poured Ginji a cup, Iarra turned back to Ban. Noticing that his color was returning to normal, she said, "He's starting to look better."

She placed the roll of bandages on the table that she was sitting on, leaned towards him and readjusted the blanket that was draped around him. As she did so, she lifted one edge of the blanket and placed her hand underneath it to fix the placement of Ginji's jacket over Ban's shoulders. She leaned forward even further, wrapping her right arm around his neck as she let her right cheek touch his. She pulled his back slightly off the wall to wrap the blanket snugly around him.

Once he was all bundled up, she straightened up and looked steadily back at him, into those piercing blue eyes that seemed to bore into her. With her back still turned to the others, she said, "He'll be recovering soon."

She then turned to stand up from the table that she was sitting on. "Anyway, I really should get going." She picked up the roll of bandages and the jar that were on the table and handed them over to Paul. "Thanks for these."

He nodded. "You're welcome."

"Yosuke?", she said, turning to the boy.

"Hai."

"Let's go." It was only when she stepped over the broken fragments of glass on the floor that she noticed the damage that the small cafe had taken during their descent. She stopped, then turned to Paul. "You do have insurance for this place, right?"

"I do," the cafe owner replied. "But I don't think it covers being smashed by chopper blades."

Iarra looked back at him for a moment, then gave him a wave as she turned back to the door. "Well, good luck with that."

Paul frowned as he watched her walk out the door, with Yosuke following close behind.

Dawn was just beginning to break out, turning one section of the sky into a red orange hue when Iarra and Yosuke stepped outside.

Through the glass window, Paul and Ginji could see them get in the helicopter. Soon, the air was filled once again with the thunderous sounds of rotor blades spinning. They watched until the helicopter lifted off, its black landing skids disappearing above the Honky Tonk window.

The rumbling sound soon became softer and softer as the helicopter flew farther and farther away.

* * *

Across the horizon, the sun was already starting its journey up, its rays just starting to peek out of their hiding place.

The wind blew Shimo's silvery waves away from his face as his ice blue eyes watched the blazing fire ravage what remained of the Pristine.

He was sitting on one of the lifeboats that were floating some distance away from the burning ship. In the lifeboat with him were other Dark Fleet agents, and scattered among the other lifeboats surrounding them were the rest of the luxury yacht's occupants.

This was actually the first time he had to use one of the _Pristine's_ lifeboats. As he gazed out at the thick clouds of black smoke that surged up to the red orange sky, and the brilliant flames that had overtaken the huge ship, he knew that this would also be the last.

The _Pristine_ was no more.

He still remembered the sound of the alarm that rung out as soon as the captain gave the orders to abandon ship. They had rehearsed this drill several times, but he never really thought that this time would come.

Some of the Dark Fleet agents were still unconscious when they started the emergency procedure, so he assisted the crew in any way that he could to make sure that everybody was helped safely onto a lifeboat - everybody that was living, that was.

A dull ache came over his heart once again at the thought of Iarra. He was planning on giving her a proper burial as soon as they arrived on land, but as he looked back at the blaze, he knew that he wouldn't be able to do so.

Memories of her played in his mind - the time when they first met; how he didn't like it at first when he found out that a girl had been assigned to work with him, and how she had quickly disproved his presuppositions; how he had come to look forward to having meals in the _Pristine_, not because of the food, but because of the conversations that they had; how they had both stolen and then enjoyed some of the gourmet food in the yacht that was only supposed to be served to guests; how she had laughed; how, when they talked briefly the night before about that mission with The Ram, he had held her tightly while she cried; and how she had looked up at him as blood flowed from the wound in her chest.

_"My times here with you... Those were the best times of my life."_

He swallowed the lump that was forming in his throat.

She would probably like it better this way, he thought as he watched the flames consume the huge yacht. _To go down with the _Pristine_. Yes, she would've preferred that._

He felt a gentle hand on his shoulder. He turned to see Nomi who was sitting beside him.

She had been watching him, seeing the pain in those ice blue eyes. Having been in the _Pristine_ much longer than she had, she could only begin to imagine the agony that he must be feeling.

He looked back at her, at the concern in her eyes. He tried to give her a reassuring smile.

Soon, the lifeboat started to move away from the burning vessel, and Shimo turned to give the _Pristine_ one last look.

_Farewell, Iarra._

* * *

The brightness from the morning sun shone through the windows of the Honky Tonk.

Inside the cafe, Ginji was sitting on a bar stool taking another sip of his coffee. This cup of coffee was also not added to the Get Backers' tab, thankfully, for it was his reward for helping Paul clean up the broken pieces of glass that were scattered all over the cafe.

Ban was still sitting in the booth, the fleece blanket still wrapped tightly around him, while Paul was at one corner of the bar, his face hidden behind a newspaper.

The blond had just set the cup back on the counter when he heard some ruffling behind him. He turned to see what it was, and his big brown eyes lit up. "Ban-chan!"

Ginji then found himself frowning at the ferocity that was in those bright blue eyes. "Ban-chan?"

Ban didn't say anything, but seemed to be gritting his teeth as he furiously unwrapped the blanket that covered him. He flung the piece of fabric and Ginji's tuxedo jacket toward the next booth. As soon as his hands were free, he slammed his clenched fist on the table.

"That bitch!"

The dark-haired retriever looked up at his partner's flustered face, then said, "That bitch stole the ring!"

* * *

A/N:

This chapter's title, "Bocca Chiusa", is Italian for "with mouth closed". In music, it means to sing with a closed mouth, or in other words, to hum. I chose this title because I had a little fun with the fact that Ban temporarily couldn't open his mouth. Sorry, Ban :)

Hey, I managed to finish another chapter! Woohoo! And of course, it just HAS to have a cliffy :P

Soooo... all questions should be answered in the next chapter. If you have your own questions, ask now or forever hold your peace hehe ;) Seriously, the comments do help me out in making sure that I've covered all the bases, since I do miss a few things every now and then.

My vacation starts a week from now, so I'm gonna try to finish the last chapter of this fic before then. If I don't post by Friday next week, then that means I didn't finish it :( I'll do my best though! And as always, thanks for hanging with me all this time! :)

(1) In the last chapter, I mentioned the collective, which controls the helicopter's up and down movements. This is the main lever that is used in lifting off. Once the chopper is up, the pilot then uses the cyclic-pitch lever, or cyclic for short, to direct it to either side, or forward and backward.

(2) In aviation, downwash refers to the downward flow of air produced by the mechanism that creates the lift to the aircraft, which in helicopters, are the rotor blades.

To vedha:

In the last chapter, I had the pilot's side facing the cabin, which had Yosuke in it. Iarra was on the other side (conveniently blocked by Yosuke, I might add). When Shimo appeared on the helipad in the last chapter, the chopper was already ascending, it was dark, there was a fire, and his attention was on the Get Backers. In short, he didn't see her. Sorry, I didn't make the description of the scene clearer.

And I thought I was being subtle with the hints hehe. In the first part when they first bumped into each other, Ban was just being Ban (hitting on girls just because he can). He was like that in The Silver Claw, so that was nothing new. The subtlety was when he was watching her laugh.

As for the chapter titles... Music is another hobby of mine, so I do know some things about it (not a lot!). Actually, music serves as my inspiration as well when thinking of scenes, and I usually have the appropriate music playing in the background when I write. And I also take a look at a music dictionary when I have trouble finding just the right title. Also, I just had this idea when I was writing Chapter 5 (which explains why the first four chapters don't have these titles). I might change those first titles later on. Or I might not :P

To Atropos' Knife:

That last Shimo scene was written to answer your question :) I did plan to have the _Pristine_ sink (hence, the rocket idea - it had another purpose aside from the laughs). I thought of just implying that the ship sank, but since you asked, I thought it would be better if I wrote it specifically to avoid possible confusion. I think the chapter works out better with that scene, anyway, so a big THANK YOU for your comment :)

I WAS subtle, wasn't I? lol But yeah, I'm glad you agree on the subtlety... It would be very OOC for Ban (even Iarra) for it to be otherwise.

Also, remember in Chapter 13, when I said that I wrote that Shimo-Iarra flashback for you, and that it actually works better because it's more relevant to the story? Well, this is the reason :D


	26. Coda

Disclaimer: I just came back from my vacation where I bought a lot of things. Unfortunately, GB isn't one of them. So yeah, I still don't own GB.

* * *

**XXVI. Coda**

"He's starting to look better."

He was looking back at her when she said that.

Ever since the sharp coldness took over and his body started failing to respond, he had been observing everything that transpired around him. He had watched closely as she created the antidote on the spot, how her face had scrunched up in pain while she squeezed her flaming blade tightly with her left hand, letting her burning blood drip down its tip toward his wound; and as warmth started to make its way back into his body, he remembered the relief that was reflected on her face when she smiled back at him and said, "You're gonna be fine."

He still couldn't move, but the numbness in his body was starting to slowly fade away when she placed the roll of bandages that she had used on her now injured left hand on the table. She leaned towards him and readjusted the blanket that was draped around him. As she did so, she lifted one edge of the blanket and placed her hand underneath it to fix the placement of his partner's jacket over his shoulders.

He felt her fingers probe into the breast pocket of the tuxedo jacket that he was wearing, and that was when alarm bells started to go off in his head.

She was about to take the ring.

And he couldn't do a damn thing about it other than threaten her with his eyes.

Her gaze met his, and he knew that she got the message. She leaned forward even further, wrapping her right arm around his neck as she let her right cheek touch his.

"I'm sorry." He heard her whisper in his ear. "But I really need to do this."

She then pulled his back slightly off the wall to wrap the blanket snugly around him. Once he was all bundled up, she straightened up and looked back at him, directly into those piercing blue eyes that seemed to bore into her.

He was sure that she saw the fire that flared in his eyes as he watched her drop the ring into one of her boot tops. _You're not gonna get away with this, Dagger Freak._

She just met his gaze steadily, and with her back still turned to the others, said aloud, "He'll be recovering soon."

Several different swear words ran through his mind, and he continued to give her the dirtiest look that he could manage until she and that Yakuza boy left.

And so Mido Ban sat there, seething with rage while warmth slowly crept its way back into his body, until finally - after what seemed like an eternity - he felt his muscles starting to respond to his commands.

Amano Ginji was sitting on one of the bar stools of the Honky Tonk sipping his coffee when he heard the ruffling sounds. He turned his head, and his big brown eyes lit up at the sight of his partner's movement. "Ban-chan!"

The dark-haired retriever was still fuming inside, so he didn't respond.

Ginji then frowned at the ferocity in those bright blue eyes. "Ban-chan?"

Ban gritted his teeth as he furiously unwrapped the blanket that was around him. He flung the piece of fabric and Ginji's tuxedo jacket toward the next booth. As soon as his hands were free, he slammed his clenched fist on the table.

"That bitch!"

Ban looked up at his partner's flustered face, then said, "That bitch stole the ring!"

"What?" Ginji asked, confused.

"Dagger Freak!" He replied as he got up. "She stole the ring right from under our noses!"

Ginji stared back at him wide-eyed.

Ban then pointed an accusing finger at his partner. "How could you just sit there and let her walk away?"

Before Ginji could defend himself, Ban's pent-up fury exploded and a string of curses came out of the dark-haired retriever's mouth.

"Dammit! I knew it! I knew we couldn't trust her! I knew it! That double-crossing good-for-nothing swindling freak! That bitch is gonna pay for this. Ohhhh, she's gonna pay!"

And then came another string of curses.

Wan Paul, who was at his favorite spot behind the counter, lowered the newspaper that he was holding in front of him, his eyes following the spiky-haired Get Backer who was now pacing back and forth, ranting with his right fist clenched in his 200-kilogram grip of fury.

"Just wait till I get my hands on you, Dagger Freak!" Ban then made some strangling motions with his hands. "I'm gonna squeeze your neck 'til your eyes pop out of their sockets! You cannot, I repeat, CANNOT steal from the Invincible Mido Ban-sama and get away with it!"

And, of course, the tirade was followed by another string of curses.

It didn't look like the vehement outburst would be done soon, so Paul hid his face behind his newspaper once again and tried to zone out the passion-filled articulation of rage.

Finally, Ban's energy seemed to fizzle out, and the steam coming out of his ears dissipated. He sat on the bar stool next to Ginji, groaning as he dropped his head down on the counter. His seething invective then turned into bitter wailing.

"My car," he moaned. "I lost my car. Why? Why? Why do I have such ROTTEN luck?"

"We can still get the car back, Ban-chan," Ginji said as he tried to soothe his partner.

Ban turned his head, resting his cheek on the counter as he looked up at Ginji woefully. "That's what she said. How do we know that Dark Fleet doesn't have it right now?" Fire suddenly blazed back into those blue eyes, and he straightened himself up, saying, "Hell, how do we even know that whatever she said is true?"

Before the fire could result in another inferno, Ginji quickly responded, "Well, she did save your life."

Ban glared at his partner. "For all we know, that could've just been a show to get us to lower our guard."

"She cut and burned herself to give you the antidote. That couldn't just be a show."

"She's a professional lying bamboozling con artist, that's why! She would do anything to achieve her goal!" His eyes turned into slits. "And why the hell are you defending her, anyway? What happened to the 'S' in Get Backers? You're supposed to be on my side!"

"But I AM on your side, Ban-chan! I just don't think that she would've done what she did for no reason."

"Oh, there's a reason, alright. Which is, that she's just been using us to get the damn ring! She lied to us, Ginji!"

Ginji shook his head. "I think there's more to it than that."

Ban's eyes narrowed as he snapped back. "And how do you know that?"

"Gut feeling, I guess."

"Gut feeling," Ban repeated, annoyed at the blond's calmness. "Why didn't that gut feeling of yours tell you that she was gonna steal the ring?"

Ginji just looked back at his partner, then shrugged. He watched as Ban slumped down, groaning again as he banged his spiky head softly, repeatedly, against the counter.

Paul turned a page of his newspaper, then sighed. With his face still hidden behind it, he said, "Why don't you try to find her then?"

The cafe owner's suggestion made Ban stop his melancholy head-banging.

"You're not meeting your client until later, right?" Paul continued.

The dark-haired retriever thought for a moment, then raised his head off the counter and straightened himself up again, the despair in his bright blue eyes fading.

"That way, you can go outside and I don't have to listen to your pathetic moping."

Ban stared at the newspaper that was covering the cafe owner's face. "You're right." He then quickly added, "Except for the moping part. I wasn't moping, for your information. I was... venting."

If Ban could see behind paper, he would see the I-don't-care-what-you-call-it-it's-still-pathetic expression in the older man's face.

The dark-haired Get Backer thought for a moment, then smiled. "Say, Paul..."

The cafe owner lowered his newspaper.

"Let's see how good of an annaiya you are," Ban said. "I've got an information challenge for ya."

Paul sighed again. "When I suggested that you try to find her, I didn't mean that I should be the one who would actually do the work."

Ban rolled his eyes. "As part of us trying to find her, we're hiring _you_ to get us some information."

"Hiring means that you're paying me."

"We _will_ pay you."

"Really. With what?"

"Well," Ban said with a lopsided smile. "_If_ you give us information that leads us to find her, _then_ we'll give you a portion of this mission's payment."

"What's a portion?"

"Three percent."

"Heh," Paul snorted. "Three percent hardly puts a dent on your tab."

"Hey, if we don't find her, then that tab will just continue to grow. A dent is better than nothing."

"How can I argue with such logic?" Paul asked sarcastically. He looked back at Ban for a moment, then said, "Twenty-five percent."

"What?" Ban asked incredulously. "Five percent. And that's final."

"Ten percent," the cafe owner said, the tone of his voice indicating that _that_ was final. "Or the damage that was done to my cafe will be added to your tab."

Ban's mouth opened up in protest. "But the chopper was the one that hurled those rocks that smashed your window, not us! Dagger Freak and that little brat were the ones flying it!"

"But it was _your_ mission that brought them here," the redhead pointed out. "My services are worth much more than that ten percent that you're gonna give me. It's a good offer. Take it, or leave it."

The Get Backer grumbled under his breath, then sighed in resignation. "Fine, fine. Ten percent, it is."

The newly hired annaiya smiled. "Alright, then." He put the newspaper down. "So what's her surname?"

Ban paused. "Ummm... I don't know."

"That makes things harder," Paul said. "Got any other clues?"

"She used to work for Dark Fleet," Ginji piped.

"Smuggler, huh." Paul nodded slowly, rubbing his chin as he mentally mapped out his information sources. "Who's she working for now?"

"She didn't tell us," Ban answered.

"Okay," Paul said, a frown forming on his face. "When did she stop working for Dark Fleet, then?"

Ban and Ginji just gave him blank looks.

"You don't know, either," the cafe owner said dryly. "You're making me grasp at straws here."

"That's why it's an information challenge!" Ban told him with a grin.

Paul sighed exasperatedly, then said, "Fine, I'm on it."

Ban smiled. "I knew we could count on you!"

The older man just rolled his eyes in response.

The dark-haired retriever then got up and headed towards the door, his bright blue eyes now taking on a newfound determination. "Let's go, Ginji."

"Go where?" Ginji asked as he stood up to follow his partner.

"Police stations. That chopper would've landed somewhere. We'll ask if the police has received any recent reports on stolen Yakuza choppers."

As he stepped outside the Honky Tonk, Ban thought, _You're gonna pay for this Dagger Freak. I'm gonna find you, and you're gonna pay._

* * *

As it turned out, the police were no help at all. When asked about Yakuza choppers, they had looked at the Get Backers as if the duo were just like those wierdos that cops encountered every day. With their ripped tuxedoes, disheveled hair, and dark circles under their bloodshot eyes, Ban hated to admit it, but it was understandable why the police didn't really take them all that seriously.

Wan Paul didn't fare any better. Finding the former Dark Fleet agent was more challenging than he had previously thought, as not even him, with his extensive access to considerable amounts of information, could obtain one solid lead.

"The only records I've found of an 'Iarra' are these really old documents from an obscure shipping company," he told the Get Backers. "There are some indications that the company had ties to Dark Fleet, but that's about it. With almost no mention of her, it would seem that she was pretty insignificant in the Fleet, but..." Paul paused. "She didn't come across as a small fry."

"No," Ginji said, shaking his head. "She was an elite agent."

He then looked back at the retrievers. "My guess is that she had been using an alias, or even a code name. Unless you know what that is, then we're at a dead end."

Code name. Ban then looked up at Paul, a slight smile forming on his face. "Here's an idea. Why don't you just get us information on how to contact..."

The cafe owner looked at him expectantly.

"... the Silver Claw?"

It was a long shot, but it was the closest thing to a lead that Ban knew of.

Paul stared back at him, unsure of whether he was joking or not. When he realized that Ban was serious, he raised an eyebrow. "And then what? Ask the Silver Claw what Iarra's code name was?"

Ban almost chuckled at how silly that question sounded, and the expression on his face made Paul's eyebrow lift up even higher.

He didn't think that it was necessary at this time to disclose who Iarra really was, so the spiky-haired retriever just replied with, "Just find the Silver Claw, and we'll worry about the rest."

Even though Ban knew that Shimo was supposedly now the new bearer of that name, he figured that this piece of information was far too recent to make it into the underworld news. Any information they could find about the Silver Claw would have to be about the predecessor.

The cafe owner snorted. "Well, there's not a lot of information on the Silver Claw, much less how to contact him. You'd have to get that information from Havoc himself. Plus, Havoc seems to be lying low right now. I haven't heard any activity from him lately."

"That's because he's dead," Ban said.

The frown on Paul's face indicated that he hadn't even heard that piece of news at all - which wasn't surprising for Ban, as he himself just found that out the night before when Iarra told them.

Paul said, "If that were true, then it makes things even harder."

"Information on how Havoc contacted the Silver Claw must be out there somewhere, and that's all you need to find."

And so they searched again, but this time, for the Silver Claw. It would seem that this would help narrow their search down, but trying to find out how to contact the elusive Dark Fleet agent had proven just as discouraging, as it appeared that Havoc, the former head of Dark Fleet, had taken that information with him to the grave.

And to make matters worse, the Get Backers' client just called and cancelled the job with no explanation as to why.

So here they were, back at the Honky Tonk - sleep-deprived, car-deprived, and cash-deprived.

Ban had already changed out of his tuxedo and was now wearing his usual white-collared shirt and jeans. He was sitting on one of the bar stools of the Honky Tonk, his spiky head slumped down once again on the counter, cursing the ex-agent while bemoaning his fate. He didn't even know why he made such an effort in keeping her underworld _nom de guerre_ a secret. It wasn't like he owed it to her.

He snorted. He definitetly did _not_ owe it to her, after that trickery that she had just pulled.

He clenched his fists in frustration.

Yes, he wanted to wring her neck, but... why he didn't just divulge her secret was something that he was still trying to figure out.

Maybe because it felt wrong somehow. It was obvious that being the Silver Claw was something she wasn't too eager to tell everybody about. But then again, so what?

Or maybe he just didn't see any benefit to doing that, he thought to himself. Yeah, that must be it. What did he care about her secrets, anyway?

_Damn her._

He sighed as he unclenched his fists.

Ginji, on the other hand, seemed to be taking things in stride. He had changed out of his tuxedo as well and was now in his usual shorts, white shirt, and green vest. He was seated in one of the booths, his brows furrowed in concentration as he made some folds on a piece of paper.

Across from him sat Mizuki Natsumi, who apparently was a member of her school's origami club and had been showing the blond Get Backer some basic things about the art of paper folding.

"Tada!" Ginji exclaimed as he held up his origami airplane proudly.

With Natsumi's coaching, the plane that he had made was a bit more complicated than the usual paper plane, with wings folded back like an F16 Viper.

"That's pretty good, Gin-chan!" A glint then appeared in the Honky Tonk waitress' eyes. "And now for the best part. Let's see if it flies!"

"Hey, Ban-chan! Are you sure you don't wanna give this a try?"

Ban grumbled, "Why don't you two just make some origami guns and bullets and shoot me in the head instead?"

"Aww, c'mon, Ban-chan! This is a lot of fun. Didn't you tell Iarra-chan that you were gonna try it?"

Ban suddenly raised his head from the counter, his bright blue eyes blazing as he did so. "First of all, I never said that I was gonna try it. You said that you wanted to give it a try, and I just said 'Sure'. Second, the mere mention of her name is enough to give me a headache so I would appreciate it, VERY MUCH, if you don't mention her name again." He bore his eyes into his partner's as he said, "EVER."

"Alright, sheesh," Ginji said, scowling at the grumpiness.

Ban slumped his head down again on the counter, while Natsumi looked back at Ginji questioningly.

Realizing that he couldn't really tell her what that was all about without mentioning the un-mentionable name, the blond just whispered to her, "I'll tell you later."

"Okay," the waitress whispered back. Aloud, she said, "Now let's see that plane fly!"

Ginji smiled, then threw the paper plane in the air.

"It's flying!"

"Yey!"

The exuberant cheers and claps from the two made Ban's headache even worse.

Ginji and Natsumi watched it soar across the cafe, gliding until it reached the door. Just then, the door chime rang and a hand reached up, catching the paper plane as it flew by.

There was silence in the Honky Tonk.

Ginji, who had his mouth wide open, finally exclaimed, "Iarra-chan!"

Ban, who was in a really foul mood, raised his head again to glare at his partner in irritation. "Ginji, what did I tell you about my headache?"

Before the blond could reply, Ban heard the voice of the un-mentionable.

"Looks like you've already started on those origami lessons. I'm impressed."

Slowly, Ban turned his head toward the voice.

Iarra, who was standing by the door of the cafe, paper plane in hand, directed her gaze at him and smiled. "Hey."

* * *

A/N:

This chapter's title, "Coda", is Italian for "tail". In music, it is used to refer to the closing section. It's not quite the last chapter, but we're almost there. I know I said all answers will be answered in this chapter, but it started to get long again, so instead of having you guys wait longer, I just decided to cut it here and have another cliffy hehe (It's the last one for this fic! I promise!)

So sorry for the late update. After a really LOOOOOOOOONG vacation, I'm finally back! Please stay tuned for the long-awaited (hopefully, not that long) conclusion of this fic.

To vedha:

I should probably put warnings that drinking water (and eating pasta - this is for you Atropos' Knife!) while reading this fic is not advisable hehe :) I'm glad your laptop is safe :) And as you can see, I unintentionally followed your advice and took my long sweet time updating.

To Atropos' Knife:

I thought of mentioning Hishiki, but... having him there was making me laugh, which wasn't my intention for the scene, so I left that out. But yeah, he survived. He always does ;) I'm glad you liked the antidote scene (yeah, I think I got what you meant LOL).

To darkhuntressxir:

Hey, there! The length of this fic can be intimidating, so I'm very happy to hear that you liked this enough to read til the 25th chapter. Thank you for reviewing! The last chapter's just around the corner, so do stick around! :)


	27. Al Fine

Disclaimer: Twenty-seven chapters, and I still don't own GB.

* * *

**XXVII. Al Fine**

There she was by the door, wearing a beige trench coat that seemed a little too large for her.

Mido Ban exploded.

"YOU!"

He suddenly got up from the bar stool and lunged at Iarra, aiming for her throat. She swiftly sidestepped to the left to avoid his attack, and he ended up breaking the glass in between one of the wooden grids on the door.

Wan Paul sweat-dropped at the sight of more broken glass on the floor.

Iarra smirked at Ban, saying, "I kinda expected that." She then gave Paul an apologetic look. "Well, not the broken glass."

Ban suddenly pulled his arm out of the hole in the door and attacked again, catching her neck with his right hand and pushing her hard against the doorframe.

"Ban-chan!" Amano Ginji exclaimed as he stood up and rushed towards them.

Before Ban could say a word, he felt something sharp nudge him under his chin.

It was the tip of one of Iarra's silver daggers.

She had already dropped the origami plane to the floor, and with her right hand, was gripping the handle of her dagger straight up, her knuckles pressed against his chest as the tip of the blade prodded the soft flesh under his chin. With the smirk still on her face, she said, "Glad to see you up and about and no longer paralyzed."

"Oi, oi oi!" Paul waved his hands frantically. "No fighting in my cafe!"

With her dark brown eyes still locked onto Ban's fiery blue ones, she responded to Paul. "He started it."

Unfazed by the blade at his throat, Ban roared, "You've got some NERVE showing up here!"

She looked back at Ban calmly, then said, "Boy, you're really mad."

"And rightfully so!" He growled, very much irritated by her statement of the obvious. "What the hell are you doing here, Dagger Freak?"

Instead of answering his question, she asked with a sly smile, "Is this how you thank someone who just saved you from being frozen to death?"

Ban gritted his teeth.

"Stop it, you two!" Paul barked. He pointed at Iarra, saying, "You!" He then motioned to her dangerous-looking weapon. "Put that away before somebody gets hurt."

Iarra scowled. "Sure," she answered the cafe owner. "Just get this _thing_ off me first."

Calling Mido Ban a 'thing' was not exactly the way to placate the retriever's anger. Ban tightened his grip around her neck, making her grimace.

"Ban-chan! Let her go!" Ginji said. He then put his hand on his partner's extended right arm in an effort to calm him down. "She came back here for a reason. Don't you wanna hear what it is?"

Ban didn't answer, but continued to glare at the ex-Dark Fleet agent. The swelling in her left cheek was still there but had gone down substantially, and the split in her lip was already dry. Needless to say, she seemed to have already recovered from her injuries.

She met his glare with that annoying triumphant look in her dark brown eyes. Ginji was not going to let Ban squash her throat, and she knew it.

The dark-haired retriever grumbled under his breath, narrowed his eyes, then finally released his grip on her neck. He watched unsympathetically as she coughed, letting the air rush back into her lungs. She then pulled back the bottom part of her oversized trench coat to put her dagger back into its sheath.

With anger still in his blue eyes, he fired questions at her one after another. "So what's the reason? Did you come here to gloat? Is that what it is? Did you really think you could steal the ring and get away with it?"

She looked up at him, meeting his furious gaze for a moment before her lips turned up into a smile. "You mean, this ring?" She held up her bandaged left hand, which had fished the bloodstone ring from inside the pocket of her coat.

Ban's scowl deepened. He looked back at her with distrust in his eyes, swiped the ring quickly from her hand, then held it up to his face. Ginji took another step towards him, and together, they took a closer look at the ring. Yes, it was the bloodstone ring, alright.

Ban flicked his eyes over to Iarra to give her a suspicious look. "I thought you said you weren't after the ring."

She was still rubbing the sore spot on her neck where Ban's hand clamped around when she said, "I wasn't."

The irritated look came back into Ban's eyes. "Then why the hell did you steal it?"

"I didn't steal it," she said defensively. "I just borrowed it."

"Borrowing means you ask first."

"No, borrowing means you'll be returning it, which is what I'm doing right now."

Ban narrowed his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest. "Explain," he demanded.

"Of course," she said, smiling. "But before I do that..."

She walked past Ban and Ginji farther into the cafe. She took off the trench coat, revealing the same clothes that she was wearing from the mission - the beaded bodice, the ripped pants. The cuts on her arms were still there but were now also dried up. She dropped the coat into one of the booths and plopped herself down on the seat.

"I don't know about you guys, but I am _tired_," she said as she exhaled loudly. "Haven't gotten any sleep at all." She looked up at Paul. "I hope that offer for a cup of coffee still stands."

The high school waitress, who had been staring at the newcomer, quickly stood up to respond.

Ban and Ginji then made their way to the booth to sit across from Iarra, with Ban glaring at the ex-Dark Fleet agent along the way.

Iarra just met his glare with an irritatingly sweet smile. She then looked up at the young waitress who had just set down a steaming cup of coffee in front of her. "Thanks, ummm.."

"Mizuki Natsumi," the high school girl said.

"Thanks, Natsumi. Pleased to meet you. I'm Iarra."

With a slight bow, Natsumi replied, "Pleased to meet you, too, Iarra-san."

"Sorry about that little... " Iarra had a slightly embarrassed look on her face as she motioned to the door "... episode."

"It's okay." Natsumi smiled. The look on her face seemed to indicate that she had been around the Get Backers long enough to know that semi-violent episodes like that were not all that uncommon in this cafe.

The waitress then set two more mugs of coffee in front of the retrievers. Iarra noticed that written on one of the mugs were the words _The Invincible Man – For the Use of Mido Ban-sama_. She raised an eyebrow at the 'Invincible Man' and gave him an amused look that said, 'Seriously?'

The 'Invincible Man' just crossed his arms over his chest and glared, waiting impatiently for the former Dark Fleet agent's explanation.

Paul, on the other hand, groaned internally as he looked at the pieces of broken glass on the floor. With a sigh, he then moved from behind the counter to clean up the new mess.

"So," Iarra finally said as she warmed her hands around her coffee cup. "Have you talked to your client at all?"

Ginji nodded, then answered, "He cancelled the job."

"And I take it that you know why," Ban, whose glare had grown more sharp, added.

Instead of replying, she brought the cup close to her lips and let her elbows rest on the table. "Don't you think it's a little weird that he just lost interest in finding his supposed heirloom?"

"So he lied about the ring," the spiky-haired retriever said in response. "That makes two of you."

"I didn't lie." She then muttered, "Withheld the truth, maybe." She looked back at them. "But I didn't lie. The ring really wasn't my target." She then took a sip of coffee from her cup.

Ban sighed exasperatedly. "Then why the HELL did you steal it?"

"Borrowed," she corrected him. "I didn't steal it, Mido. I borrowed it."

"Just get to the point, Dagger Freak."

She scowled at the rudeness, but complied. "I wasn't after the ring. I was after what was _inside_ the ring."

Ban and Ginji stared at her with puzzled looks on their faces.

She brought the cup back down on the table. "Here, let me show you." She then held her right palm out.

Ban looked down at her palm, then back up at her eyes. Normally, Ban would have moved the ring away, far from her clutches. The fact that the ring really didn't have that much value anymore after the client's cancellation made him decide to drop it - reluctantly - into her hand, but not without giving her another suspicious glare, at which she just rolled her eyes.

Iarra closed her palm, then flicked her wrist to hold the ring with her thumb and index finger. She brought it closer to her face, and with the thumb and index finger of her bandaged hand, pressed the sides of the mount where the bloodstone sat. The bloodstone opened up, revealing a small compartment.

"Pretty neat, huh?" The ex-agent smiled at the retrievers as they stared at the hollow cavity that was behind the bloodstone.

"You said you were after what was inside the ring," Ban said, his gaze going back to Iarra.

"Yes."

"I don't think you meant air."

She smiled again as she answered his implied question. "There was another gem hidden inside the ring - a synthetic gem created by a scientist named Otsuka Roku." She paused. "He was murdered three days ago."

"Who killed him?" Ginji asked, his eyes wide.

"Nobody knows right now," she answered as she slowly shook her head. "But it was somebody who wanted the gem really badly."

Ban frowned. "So why would anybody kill for that gem?"

Iarra looked at him for a moment, then asked, "Have you heard of the YAG gemstone?"

Ban nodded. "Yttrium Aluminum Garnet."

Ginji blinked confusedly at his partner. "What?"

Ban took a sip of his coffee, then explained. "YAG is an acronym. It stands for Yttrium Aluminum Garnet. It's a man-made gemstone. It was used to simulate diamonds before cubic zirconia was created." He then looked back at Iarra. "Now it's mainly used in lasers."

Iarra, who was smiling at his short discourse, said, "Correct." She took another sip of coffee, then continued, "There's a great deal of research going on right now on the use of high-powered lasers as directed energy weapons. It's a great challenge, since the heat generated in these things causes so many problems, but...," She paused. "... FIRESTRIKE has demonstrated that it _is_ possible. (1)"

Ban stared at her for a moment as he tried to make sense of what she was saying. "They wanna use gems for laser weapons," he finally said, then frowned. "So this synthetic gemstone was like YAG?"

"In a lot of ways, yes," she answered. "Roku-san called it... Heaven's Jewel, due to its almost miraculous ability to amplify energy. The only difference with YAG is..." She frowned, then corrected herself, "The _big_ difference with YAG is... When Heaven's Jewel was used in lasers, it produced energy levels that turned out to be..." She paused again as she thought about the right words to use. "... _stunningly_ high."

The tone in her voice made Ban wonder what she meant, so he asked, "What's _stunningly_ high?"

"Too high." She paused again, then looked directly into the eyes of the retrievers as she said, "Like a _nuclear bomb_."

The retrievers stared back at her.

Her gaze dropped down to her mug as she continued. "Roku-san lost both of his parents in the nuclear bombing of Hiroshima." She slowly shook her head as she said softly, "He couldn't bear the thought of causing, by the work of his own hands, the same loss and pain that he had experienced..."

She noticed Ginji's eyes flicker slightly as they moved towards his own gloved hands, and the twinge of sadness in those chocolate brown eyes told her that she must have triggered some painful memories.

"Once he realized what his creation was capable of," she continued, her gaze now shifting to Ban's bright blue eyes. "... he took it upon himself to destroy it and all information related to it. He wiped his hard drives clean, shredded and burned his notes... and was able to successfully destroy two of the three gems."

"Two of the three," Ban repeated, frowning. "So the remaining one was in that ring?"

She nodded, then held up the opened bloodstone ring. "Several people expressed their interest in Heaven's Jewel - governments... _and_ big-time criminal organizations. But before Roku-san could destroy it, the last Heaven's Jewel was stolen, and he was killed in the process."

She paused, and her gaze dropped down once again to the cup in front of her. Ban noticed her swallow, as if there was a lump in her throat. She then took a deep breath before continuing.

"I've been following this gem's trail for the past three days, and I found out that the Yakuza was planning to use the gem to forge an alliance with Dark Fleet. With Dark Fleet's resources, it would only be a matter of time before nuclear-like laser weapons could be created and sold in the black market."

Ban leaned back in his seat, his mind churning out unpleasant possibilities of what could've happened if the alliance pushed through.

"That's why it was very important for that deal not to go through," Iarra, who was watching Ban's expression, said. "I was hoping that I could stop it back at the hotel last night." She muttered, "That way, I wouldn't have to deal with Dark Fleet." She then looked pointedly at Ban and Ginji. "But surprise, surprise. Guess who I bumped into and messed everything up."

The dark-haired retriever snorted. "You could've just told us what you were really after. That would've made things simpler, wouldn't it?"

She shook her head, saying, "I couldn't tell you about the gem. The less people that knew about it, the better." She then motioned to the ring in her hand. "Besides, I didn't know at the time that Heaven's Jewel was inside this thing. It just dawned on me later, when we first met Yosuke and he mentioned that the ring was already with Shimo. Plus..." She closed her palm as she raised her cup to her lips again. "I didn't know who you were working for."

"Didn't," Ban repeated, noting the past tense. "But you do now."

She looked back at those bright blue eyes and knew that even though it wasn't a question, the retriever wanted her to elaborate. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but it appears to me that you have no friggin' idea who you were working for."

Not wanting to admit it, Ban just bore his piercing blue eyes into her.

Her smile grew smug, and it annoyed Ban how she could tell that he was absolutely clueless about who the Get Backers' client really was.

"Like I said, I've been following this gem's trail for the past three days," she said. "So I knew that the Yakuza stole it from this guy that works for an automobile company. That's your client, right?"

Ginji, who had been sipping his own cup of coffee, nodded.

"Well..." She took a sip herself before continuing, "His real bosses are the 14K." At Ginji's confused look, she continued, "They're one of the largest Triads based in Hong Kong, and they're also the most active internationally. (2)"

The blond stopped and stared at Iarra. "So that's why he cancelled the job. He must've found out that the Yakuza no longer has the gem."

"That's right," she said, nodding back at Ginji.

"Damn," Ban muttered. To think that they almost helped those thugs create nuclear-like weapons. The spiky-haired retriever shuddered at the thought. He then brought his suspicious eyes back to the ex-Dark Fleet agent. "You said that the less people that know about the gem, the better. Why are you telling us all this now?"

"Because the gem no longer exists," she replied simply.

"You mean you destroyed it?" Ginji asked.

"I'd like to say yes, but it wasn't me who actually did it. Yosuke did most of the work," she answered. "That was what we've been trying to do since this morning. Destroying that gem wasn't as simple as crushing the damn thing."

The confused look on Ginji's face prodded her to elaborate. "The chemical bonds within the gem's crystal structure had to be broken, and Roku-san created this device that could do exactly that, but... I had no idea how that thing worked. Hoshi-san had no idea how that thing worked. It was Yosuke who figured it out." She smiled at Ginji. "You weren't kidding when you said that the kid's a genius."

"He is!" The blond then frowned. "But who's Hoshi-san?"

"Otsuka Hoshi. Roku-san's widow." She paused again before saying, "My client." She took another sip of coffee. "After Roku-san's death, she contacted me asking for help."

"Contacted you." Ban suddenly interrupted. So there WAS a way to contact her. "You mean she called you?"

"Yes," she answered.

"So you DO have a phone number."

She stared at Ban for a while, unsure of exactly what he was getting at. After a long pause, she asked, "Yeah. Do you want it?"

Ban felt blood rush to his face as he realized that his statement made it sound like he was asking for her number. "Well," he grumbled. "It would've been really handy right after you ran off with the ring."

Before Iarra could say anything, Ginji asked, "So where is Yosuke now?"

Iarra turned from staring at Ban and moved her eyes over to Ginji. "He's with Hoshi-san." She then smiled. "He's in Sleepsville, to be exact. Which isn't a bad place to be right now if you ask me." She stretched out her arms, then stifled a yawn. "I'm exhausted." She looked back at Paul and Natsumi and gave them both a smile. "That was really good coffee. Thank you."

"You're welcome," Paul said.

She then placed the bloodstone ring on the table in front of Ban, then said, "Here's the ring. Even though you didn't get paid, you still have your 100% success rate, so..." She smiled wryly, "... congratulations."

"Thanks," Ban responded just as sarcastically. "This is ALL because of you."

She chuckled, then reached for the beige trench coat that was on the seat beside her. She saw Ban's blue eyes flit over to the trench coat, then back to her.

"What?" She asked him.

"What's with the coat?" Ban asked.

"What do you mean?"

"It's not yours," he remarked. "Did you steal it, too?"

Irked by the question, she gave him an annoyed look, then asked, "What makes you say that?"

She slid her arm inside one of the oversized sleeves, and the spiky-haired Get Backer gave her a look that said 'Duh'.

She chuckled, then said, "If you really must know... I borrowed it from Hoshi-san. I didn't think it was a good idea to walk around Tokyo in broad daylight looking like this." She motioned to her black beaded bodice, the cuts on her arms, and the daggers at her hips.

"Tch." Ban snorted. "I've seen some cosplayers dress more horribly than that."

Iarra raised an eyebrow. "You think I can pass as a horrible cosplayer." An amused smile now tugged at the corners of her lips. "And if somebody asks, what character am I supposed to be?"

"That's easy," the spiky-haired retriever said with a snicker. "Some psycho knife-wielding zombie chick."

"Haha," she said sarcastically. "You should know by now that these aren't knives, Mido. They're daggers." She then frowned. "Do I really look like a zombie?"

Ban found it funny that she didn't protest the 'psycho' part. "Well," he started. "The bloodshot eyes are a nice touch."

She chuckled this time. "Well, I could've gone straight home for a hot shower and much needed shuteye time, but I thought I'd be nice and give you answers as soon as possible, so forgive me for my zombie-like appearance. Anyway..." She slid her other arm in the coat, then took another sip of coffee. "I need to go now. This zombie needs some rest."

"Iarra-chan."

She looked back at Ginji.

"Now that Dark Fleet knows you're still around, do you think they'll be looking for you?"

Iarra thought for a while, then answered, "Most likely."

"So what're you gonna do now?" Ginji asked again.

The blond Get Backer was actually concerned about her well-being, she realized with wonder as she looked back into those chocolate brown eyes. No wonder Yosuke had so much respect for his former Emperor.

"Disappear, I guess?" She then smiled. "You could say that I'm pretty good at that."

"Yeah, we know," Ginji said as he remembered their fruitless search earlier.

Iarra looked back at the blond in puzzlement at what he meant. She turned to Ban, who just flicked his eyes down to stare at his mug, which made her frown grow deeper. His reaction was making her think that he knew something that she didn't. The spiky-haired retriever didn't say anything, but just continued to stare at his mug in silence. Figuring that it was probably not a big deal, she decided to shrug it off as she moved to the edge of the seat.

Just as she was about to stand up, Ban said, "You don't need to worry about that too much."

She stopped and turned to him.

He directed his gaze from his mug up to her face. "They think you're dead," the dark-haired retriever added.

Iarra stared at him in confusion, her brows furrowing as she thought about what he meant. "Why would they..." Her voice then trailed off as it dawned on her. "That last Jagan... with Shimo," she said, a look of understanding emerging on her face. "You killed me, didn't you?"

Ban gave her an innocent look. "Now why would I do that?"

"I mean, in the dream. You had me killed."

Ban just smiled, then took a sip of coffee from his favorite mug.

Iarra chuckled. "I thought you said you showed him a bunch of Winnie the Poohs."

"That, too."

She laughed. "That's one helluva dream, you twisted bastard!"

Ban couldn't help but smile at the peals of laughter coming out of the ex-Dark Fleet agent. Soon, her laughter subsided and she gazed up, directly into the eyes of the Jagan Master.

"I never thought I'd say this, but...," she began, and a sincere smile came over her lips. "Thanks for having me killed."

"Oh, it was nothing," the dark-haired retriever said, dismissing her gratefulness with a wave of his hand. "I've imagined it so many times, it wasn't that hard."

She rolled her eyes at him, but the amused smile stayed on her lips. "Aww.. You're too sweet."

"Before you go," Paul, who had just finished cleaning up the broken pieces of glass, interrupted. "You should know that the insurance of this cafe doesn't cover being smashed by chopper blades."

"Oh," Iarra said, wondering why the cafe owner was mentioning this to her. "That's too bad."

"Yeah," Paul continued. "So I took the liberty of putting that on your tab."

"What?" She protested. "But I wasn't the pilot!"

"Yeah, she was the co-pilot," Ban added.

Pleasantly surprised that he was actually backing her up for a change, she gave Ban another grateful smile. "That's right!"

Ban then turned to her and gave her a smirk. "That means you're co-responsible."

Her grateful smile turned immediately into a glare, while Ban's smirk turned into a grin.

"Fine," she grumbled, then turned back to Paul. "I'll pay for the damage _after_ the Get Backers pay for my bike."

"What?" It was now Ban's turn to protest. "Why the hell are we paying for your bike?"

"Because you wrecked it, that's why!"

"_We_ never touched your bike, sweetheart. _You_ were at the controls, not us."

"I _was_ in control until you two twerps knocked me out!"

"_I_ didn't knock you out. _Ginji_ did!"

"Gee, thanks, Ban-chan," Ginji said as he gave his partner a miffed look. "So much for the 'S' in Get Backers."

"Alright, alright!" Paul said as he held up his hands to break up what seemed to be an impending fight. He turned to Iarra. "Sorry, but I have to hold somebody responsible, and unfortunately, that has to be you. I hope you have a better record of paying tabs than these two."

Iarra grumbled under her breath, then sighed. "Fine, I'll pay for it. But that last one..." She pointed at the new hole in the door, then gave Ban an accusing look. "... isn't my doing, so I'm not paying for _that_."

"Well, _that_ wouldn't have happened if you just stood still," Ban snapped.

She snorted. "Are you saying that the door being broken is _my_ fault because I didn't let you strangle me?"

"Yes!"

"Well, that is the most ridiculous reasoning I've ever heard!"

Natsumi chuckled, smiling as she shook her head at the verbal spat. Her gray eyes dropped down to her watch, and she realized that her shift was ending soon. She proceeded to take her apron off.

Ginji, who noticed the waitress' movement, looked up and asked, "Are you leaving now, Natsumi-chan?"

His question thankfully interrupted the bickering.

The watiress nodded, saying, "I have to go home now and get ready." She gave Ginji a smile, which made the blond's brown eyes light up. "We have a big night tonight."

Ban sighed. "I don't think we can go to the concert, Natsumi-chan."

The light in Ginji's eyes dimmed as he turned to his partner in surprise. "Why not, Ban-chan?"

"How can we get there? Our car is in the middle of nowhere." He then looked pointedly at Iarra. "Thanks to a certain someone."

"Hey," Iarra protested. "You're the one who drove it there, urchin-head."

"And I didn't intend to leave it there. A certain _someone_ made that call."

"Which _saved your life_!"

"Ban-chan!" Ginji interrupted before another fight could ensue. "Can't we just take the train?"

"Public transportation?" Ban gasped as he shook his head vehemently. "No way! Absolutely not! I'd rather walk!"

Natsumi frowned. "But it's too far to walk."

"What's wrong with public transportation?" Iarra asked Ban.

Ban turned to her, saying, "Let's just say that I haven't had a good experience with it."

"B-but, Ban-chan," the blond said, his lower lip trembling. He turned his big brown woeful eyes to his partner. "It's _free dinner_!"

Ban sighed. He hated it when Ginji gave him that look. "Then why don't _you_ go and get your free dinner?"

"But we told Madoka-chan that we would _both_ go."

"That's before we lost the car, thanks to a certain someone." He turned his blue steely gaze back to the ex-Dark Fleet agent.

Iarra, who had been listening curiously to the conversation, was oblivious to Ban's glare. "Madoka?" She repeated. "Otowa Madoka? The violinist?"

Ginji turned to Iarra. "You know her?"

Iarra nodded. "I've heard her play once. She's incredible." She smiled. "I love the sound of the violin."

A grin appeared on Ginji's face. "Ban-chan plays the violin!"

Ban suddenly bonked Ginji on the head, making the blond turn chibi. He gave Iarra the same kind of smile that his partner just gave her. "And Ginji blurts out stupid things!"

"Why is that stupid?" Chibi Ginji asked. "It's true!"

"It's stupid because it's irrelevant!"

Iarra watched them with an amused expression in her eyes, then asked, "Can't you guys just take a cab?"

"Since our job was cancelled, we can't really afford to take a cab," Ginji replied mournfully.

"Shut up, Ginji," his partner grumbled. She did not need to know about the Get Backers' money problems.

Iarra's gaze moved from Ban's slightly embarrassed face, to Ginji's woeful look, to Natsumi's disappointed expression. She sighed.

"I..." Iarra began. "... might be able to give you guys a ride."

Ginji's ears perked up like a little labrador puppy. "Really, Iarra-chan?" He then frowned. "But with your bike gone, how can you give us a ride?"

"Ginji," the ex-agent said patiently. "Even if I had the bike, do you think I would use that to give you all a ride?"

Ginji paused for a while, then answered, "I guess we can't all fit."

She smiled, amused. "No, we can't."

"You have a car, then?"

"I have another vehicle, yes."

Ban interrupted with a snort. "I hope you don't mean that chopper."

"No," Iarra replied with a chuckle. She then sighed. "That reminds me. I still haven't figured out how to get rid of that thing." She turned to Ban with a joking smile. "Do you want it? It's still got one more rocket."

"As tempting as a stolen Yakuza chopper with a rocket sounds," Ban said wryly. "I'm gonna have to pass. I just want my Ladybug back."

"Then get it back, Mr. Get Backer," she said, shrugging as if it was no big deal. "You know where it is."

"And how do you know that it's still there?" Ban asked pointedly.

"It's in a _hidden_ place," she answered, annoyance staring to creep up once again into her voice.

"Ummm... Iarra-chan?" Ginji interrupted before the argument escalated. "So you don't mind giving us a ride?"

Iarra turned from Ban to Ginji, then to Natsumi, then back to Ginji. She sighed, thinking, _Why am I doing this?_

But it was too late to back out now. Aloud, she said, "Otowa Madoka is an amazing musician. I would hate for you guys to miss her concert just because some _jerk_ doesn't want to take public transportation."

"Oh, thank you, Iarra-chan!" Tare-Ginji hops over the table and glomps her.

Iarra, who was not used to being glomped, stiffened up. She stared at tare-Ginji who was now dancing on the table with those fans that seemed to always magically appear out of nowhere during times like this.

Ginji suddenly stopped his happy dance as a thought occurred to him. "Hey, do you want to come with us?"

Ban bonked him on the head once again.

Chibi Ginji turned to his partner with an annoyed frown on his face. "What was that for? We _do_ have an extra ticket."

"_We_ do?" Ban repeated. "You mean, _I_ do. You can't just go around offering _my_ ticket to anyone."

"You told me last night that I could do whatever I want with it," Ginji said as he went back to his normal form and returned to his seat beside Ban. "Well... _This_ is what I want to do with it."

Ban grumbled, "You forget a lot of things, but why do you remember _that_?"

"You can relax," Iarra told him as she rolled her eyes. "I'm not gonna go where I'm not wanted."

"Then what are you doing _here_?" Ban asked before feeling a hard kick from under the table. "Owww!" He flashed his partner an angry look that said 'What was that for?'.

Ginji just crossed his arms over his chest and gave his partner a reproachful look. Ban's eyes flicked over to Natsumi, who was watching the scene with that innocently hopeful look in her eyes. Ban swore under his breath, then sighed. He then turned to the girl sitting across from him.

"Would you like to go with us, Dagger Freak?"

Iarra looked straight into those blue eyes and gave him a deadpan look. "I have a name, y'know."

Ban stared back at her, then muttered, "You're not gonna make this easy, are ya?"

Iarra just blinked innocently. "I don't know what you're talking about. Make what easy?"

The spiky-haired retriever glared at her as he gritted his teeth. With forced sweetness, he said, "Iarra."

She gave him her own sugary smile. "Yes?"

"Would you like to spend an evening with the Invincible Mido Ban-sama?"

"Wow," Iarra breathed out sarcastically. "That sounds sooo irresistable."

"Yeah, I can turn on the charm button sometimes," Ban replied just as sarcastically.

"No... way," she gasped in mock disbelief. "You mean it's been off all this time?"

"Hard to believe, isn't it?" He said dryly. He then scowled. "So are you going or not?"

Iarra raised an unamused eyebrow and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Ban-chan!" Ginji hissed. "Ask nicely."

Ban glared at his partner, then directed the glare back at Iarra. _Girls_, he thought. _Why do they have __to be so difficult?_ He sighed again, then with gritted teeth but with a voice dripping with honey, he said, "We would be very much delighted if you could grace us with your presence."

She rolled her eyes. Realizing that that was as good as it was gonna get, she finally sighed and asked, "Where is it gonna be?"

"At Ebisu," Ban answered.

"And what time does it start?"

"Seven. Doors open at six."

Ban then frowned. It suddenly occurred to him that they were now talking to each other without any hint of sarcasm. And it felt... well.. wierd.

"We don't need to be there at exactly six, right?" Iarra was saying. "I'll be here at six-thirty."

"It's a Friday night," Ban said. He then dropped his gaze to his mug. "Traffic's gonna be slower than usual."

She was about to reply, but stopped as she, too, suddenly realized something.

Friday night. She was actually talking to Mido Ban about meeting up _on a Friday night_. And it wasn't for a job.

"Okay." She frowned, her gaze dropping down as well as she mumbled, "Six-fifteen, then."

"Sounds good," was Ban's curt reply.

They both took sips from their respective cups.

Ginji looked at Iarra, then at Ban, then back at Iarra. Both were looking at everywhere else but at each other.

"Sooo..." The blond said, confused as to what was going on. "Was that a 'yes'?"

She looked at those hopeful chocolate brown eyes, and she couldn't help but smile. "Yes."

"Yey! This is gonna be fun!"

"Alright." Iarra, who was unable to handle the uneasiness any longer, suddenly stood up and made her way to the door. "I need to..." She stammered. "..You know... get ready... and stuff." She stopped as she reached the door. She then hastily turned and gave them a small wave. "I'll see you all later."

And with that, she quickly opened the door and stepped outside. As she closed the door behind her, she sighed, then glared at nothing in particular as she scolded herself.

_What the hell was that?_

* * *

Ban's eyes flicked over to the door. He watched Iarra turn to the right and walk past the window outside. Once he was sure that she was gone, he relaxed and exhaled. He then heard a soft chuckle from behind the counter. Turning his head to the sound, he found himself looking at the amused expression on Wan Paul's face.

"What?" Ban asked, glaring.

"You're homeless, carless, and penniless, and yet you managed to get yourself a date," Paul replied, chuckling again. "Your luck doesn't seem to be all that rotten, after all."

"Oh, shut up." Ban spat back. "It's not a date. She's just giving us a ride, and we just happen to have an extra ticket."

"Of course." Natsumi chirped. "That's all it is."

Ban said nothing, but just glared at his mug, ignoring the knowing smiles that were being exchanged between Ginji and Natsumi.

"Well, I need to go now," the waitress said.

"I'll walk you home," Ginji offered.

"Thanks, but you don't have to, Gin-chan," Natsumi said. "Don't you need to get ready yourself?"

The blond nodded, "Yeah, but guys don't need as much time to get ready. We just need to get into our tuxedoes. Right, Ban-chan?"

Ban groaned. "Tuxedoes."

Natsumi turned to Ban with a questioning look in her gray eyes.

"Oh, right," Ginji said. He smiled sheepishly at the waitress. "The tuxedo rental shop owner wasn't too happy with us when we returned the ones that we used for this last mission."

Ginji then attempted to imitate what he remembered of the scene at the tux rental shop earlier. In an old man's voice, he shook his gloved fist in the air, and said, "This is the last time I'm gonna let you ruin my merchandise, Get Backers!"

The waitress laughed at the impromptu impersonation. "Why? What happened?"

"The tuxes had lots of rips and blood stains," the blond answered.

"Blood stains?" Natsumi stopped laughing as her gray eyes widened.

"We're alright," Ginji said, holding his hands up to reassure her. "It's kind of a long story."

"Which I don't need to hear," Ban interruped as he quickly stood up. "You can tell her when you walk her home."

"Ban-chan?" Ginji gave him a confused look. "Where are you going?"

The spiky-haired retriever ignored the stares that he knew they were giving him as made his way to the door. Without looking at any of them, he said, "I'm going to get us some tuxes, of course." He then opened the door.

"Okay," his partner called out after him.

As he closed the door behind him, Ban lit up a cigarette that he had fished out of his pocket and took a long drag. He blew some smoke from his cigarette, his breath making it seem almost like a sigh. Damn, he needed to get out of there.

He turned down the street and started walking.

Dammit, he cursed to himself again as he thought about the upcoming evening.

He was perfectly fine with going by himself to Madoka's concert. In fact, he would very much prefer it. That way, he could just enjoy the food and the music without having to engage in the wonderful joys of making small talk.

But so much for that. Now, she, of all people - the ex-Dark Fleet agent who had earned quite the sterling reputation in the underworld as the Silver Claw - was going to be his date.

_It's not a date!_ He protested as soon as the thought entered his mind.

She would just happen to be there.

With him.

Thanks to that idiot partner of his.

He sighed again, putting one hand in his pocket while the other held his cigarette. He trudged on, ignoring the existing smoking ban on Tokyo sidewalks, until he reached a corner. Still preoccupied with his thoughts, he turned to the small sidestreet and stopped.

Right across the street from him was - lo, and behold - a tuxedo rental shop.

_Great_, Ban grumbled.

With his hands in his pockets, and his cigarette dangling in his mouth, he stopped in front of the shop and looked up, staring at the shop sign for what seemed like an eternity. Finally, he took a deep breath.

Well... Better get those tuxedoes now before he changed his mind.

_Dammit._

* * *

A/N:

This chapter's title, "Al Fine", is an Italian musical term that literally means "to the end". And as you can see, we have finally reached the end of this fic, and what better time to post it that on a Friday night? :) (it's Friday in my part of the world, anyway. Wish I had a dinner concert to go to hehe). I'm not sure if this was the best place to end it, but I realize that I have to stop now before I start writing about Madoka's concert.

I hope you had as much fun reading it as I did writing it. Thank you for staying with me till the end. As always, I love hearing from you so comments are very much welcome. It's very encouraging, it makes me happy, and I find out how I can improve :)

(1) What Iarra said is true. FIRESTRIKE is a product of this ongoing research on laser weapons. It's a high-energy solid-state laser weapon system created by Northrop Grumman. Tests have shown that this laser can be powerful enough to be used in the battlefield (not quite like the Star Wars-style blasters yet, but it's getting there). Oh, and it uses YAG.

(2) The 14K Triad is also real.

To vedha:

The last word in this chapter is dedicated to you (lol Just kidding!). Well, there is no shortage of foul language whenever our beloved Ban-sama is around, so there you go ;)

To Atropos' Knife:

Here's your info dump (I hope that wasn't too geeky hehe) on the ring and how Dark Fleet is involved. I don't know what more I can say about Shimo, other than Nomi is nursing his broken heart (lol). And the Ginji-Natsumi moments are for you hehe ;)

P.S.

I don't know what to do with myself not that this is over. I might write another fic. I have a few ideas, but I'm not sure which one to pick. I could write another sequel, which would be about the concert; or I could continue my other unfinished fic; or I could write a totally new one. What to do, what to do? If you have a preference, let me know!

Till next time, everyone!

Mayumi-san out.


End file.
